Neptune's Call
by Kimba LionHeart
Summary: KandaxLavixAllen-The Mermaids are a dying race, living in fear of Man's destructive grasp. Allen is a merman charged with taking the lives of two humans, but finds himself unable to do so and is captured himself. Not an excuse for smut, actual plot here. -On Hiatus-
1. Chapter 1: Allen

**READ THIS AN: **This story mentions a lot about children, but there will be NO Mpreg or OC fish babies. This story will also involve a love triangle that will most likely end in polyamory, but it will be a long, tough road before we get to that point. And yeah, all the merpeople are naked. Mermaids only wear clothes in Disney movies. These first few chapters are a bit short, but they get longer as we introduce more plot and characters.

Thanks for reading, and please review!

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><p>The sea was beautiful at this time of day. Of course, the time of day didn't really make a difference, considering little to no light actually reached this deep, but it was gorgeous nonetheless. Small fish darted to and fro between the rocks, taking refuge in this place where no predators resided. Very few things were able to live at this depth, unable to withstand the pressure of the water around them. So, save for the waves made by the small number of inhabitants, the water was quite still.<p>

This peace was disrupted, however, by the frantic movement of a creature swimming about. The being took the form of a beautiful nude woman from the waist up, and its bottom half was comprised of a fish tail with stunning dark green scales that seemed to shimmer, even in the almost nonexistent light. Her long, almost black hair swirled about her as she shouted out into the ocean.

"Allen!" The distraught beauty called out into the depths. "Allen, where are you?"

Suddenly, a blur of silver crashed into her. "Boo! Gotcha, Lenalee!"

The dark haired maiden whirled around and giggled at the sight of her friend. This one was much the same as she was, except the torso was that of a man, and his scales were the color of platinum. As she looked him over, she noted that he had become quite handsome over the years; his hair was the color of alabaster and his eyes a tempest grey.

"What's so funny?" the white haired youth asked.

"You have seaweed in your hair." Laughing lightly, Lenalee reached out and plucked the offending plant from pale locks. "You've been out exploring again, haven't you?"

Allen flushed slightly and looked away. "Maybe."

"Allen. You know the General gets upset when you do things like that. What if you get caught by a fisherman?"

"I'm strong enough to take care of myself, Lenalee."

"But apparently, you aren't smart enough to remember when your own ceremony is being held."

The normally pale skin went almost white at the reminder. "Oh, _crap_." He whispered.

"Uh huh. C'mon, we are already late as it is. Let's go."

Lenalee grabbed Allen's hand and began to swim east, dragging him along with her. Swiftly, they traveled through a series of twists and turns, diving around rocks and eventually swimming over a precipice into a valley along the ocean floor. A giant castle made of coral rose from the valley. As they swam closer, it became obvious that the huge structure was teaming with life. Other merfolk drifted in and out of several openings in the castle walls, mingling with various other sea creatures. As the pair swam past a giant squid, Allen went out of his way to give it a wide birth.

"Allen? What's wrong?" Lenalee asked, noting his discomfort.

"I don't like squids. Foul tempered things."

"Allen." She let out a sigh, causing several bubbles to burst forth from her mouth and gills. "You know that all creatures that come into our territory are pacified by magic. It wont hurt you."

"I know…I'd just prefer to keep my distance." A shudder ran through his body, temporarily disrupting the rhythmic movement of his silvery scales.

His counterpart shook her head and she motioned for him to hurry up. They went through what appeared to be the main entrance, traveled through a series of winding corridors that would have left anyone else feeling very lost, until they came into a rather large antechamber. Several others were already in the room, some of them smiling in greeting, some shaking their heads. Lenalee finally let go of Allen's hand and pushed him toward a dais in the center of the room. Hesitantly, he floated up to the top of the platform, worriedly looking toward the merman who was waiting for him there.

The flowing red hair and mask taken from a sunken ship, coupled with the glare that adorned the visible side of his face made for quite the imposing vision. Allen thought that he looked more like a sea-devil than one of the merfolk, but he didn't dare say that aloud.

"Well. It seems as though my idiot apprentice has decided to grace us with his presence."

"M-Master, I can explain-"

"I don't want to hear it. Let's just get this over with. We need to find you a mate."

At this, Allen crossed his arms. "But, why? What if I don't want a mate?"

The larger merman turned his head toward his apprentice and narrowed his eyes even further. "We have been over this a thousand times, boy. Ours is a dying race. Even though we live for hundreds of years, we are only given a very small window of opportunity for reproducing. Once a merman or mermaid reaches sexual maturity, they have a year at most before they are no longer able to spawn."

"But, Master-"

"Allen, today marks your 250th birthday. You are in the prime of your fertility stage as of today. You have no choice; we must do this so that our people may live on. Best that we get it over with now."

"Allen, General Cross is right. We have to find a suitable mate for you right away, so that you can spawn a child." Lenalee said from behind the white haired boy.

"But going to the surface for that is just-"

"Ah, now I understand. You do not want to be with a human." The newest speaker swam up behind Lenalee and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Brother! Don't scare me like that." She said.

"Sorry about that. You know that Big Brother Komui would never intentionally frighten you." The merman of similar coloring as his sister fawned over her for a moment, then turned back to the general.

"It is a pitiable accident of birth that we are unable to reproduce without the aid of humans. They are contemptible at best, so I can comprehend your hesitation. However, this must be done."

"General Cross?" Everyone present looked over to find little Timothy raising his hand.

"Put your hand down kid. What is it?"

"Why are humans so bad?"

"This hasn't been explained to you yet, young one?" The red haired merman asked. When the child shook his head, the general sighed and began to explain. "Long ago, we resided in shallow waters. We lived alongside humans in peace. Back then, our numbers were plentiful, because they happily mated with us. However, Men are greedy at heart, and they eventually grew jealous of our long lifespan. They began to hunt us out of fear and envy and we were driven to the deepest depths of the ocean. They no longer have any respect for the ocean, and just dump whatever they please into it, as if they own the waters. And because we are so few in number now, we have no choice but to hide down here and we must resort kidnapping suitable mates, then drowning them to keep our species alive."

Timothy shivered in horror. "That's horrible. Why would they do that? What did we ever do to them?"

"Nothing." Komui spoke up, with sadness in his eyes and muted anger in his voice. "We always considered Men to be our friends and they betrayed us, murdering our kin in cold blood."

Allen shook his head. "I know all of that. But it doesn't change that fact that I don't want to be forced to mate against my will."

"Grow up, boy. You must do this, for the good of our race. Stop acting like a child and deal with it. Now. If we are quite finished with all of this nonsense, lets get on with the ceremony."

Everyone fell silent, most out of respect, some out of curiosity, and Allen did so to keep himself from blurting out something that would get him punished even further. General Cross turned toward the dais and opened the gigantic oyster that lay atop it. From it, he retrieved a luminous pearl, big enough to fit comfortably in both of his hands. He held it aloft as he began to chant.

"O, Neptune, Lord of All Seas, Master of The Tide. It is time for young Allen to create a new life in your service. Please, show us a human suitable for this venture."

"For your sake, I hope that it's at least a pretty girl." Koumi whispered.

"Or a handsome sailor. Gender makes no difference, after all." Lenalee added.

Allen tuned them out. Despite his reluctance, he couldn't help but become fascinated as the pearl began to glow, the water around it shining with magical power. The pearl's milky texture slowly faded into something more translucent as they all watched, either in awe, or in excitement to find out whom the next sacrifice to the sea would be.

Allen's breath caught in his gills as an image formed within the now clear pearl. Certainly, their call to the sea god had been answered, but…

"Two? Why are there two people in the image?" Lenalee asked, voicing the confusion that Allen so clearly felt.

All was quiet for a moment, before General Cross erupted into laughter.

"I knew you would be worth something someday, boy! You have been given the opportunity to mate not once, but twice. Two rounds of spawn from the same merman. This is our lucky day!"

The room erupted into chatter and cheers. All around, people swam up to Allen and patted him on the back.

"Two breeding cycles from the same guy!"

"Wow, way to go Allen!"

"Congratulations!"

"Such a rare thing—you must be honored!"

Allen accepted their jubilance in stunned silence. Logically, he knew this was a good thing. He had the chance to give twice as much to their community than anyone else. But only one thought kept running through his head:

_'Now I have to kill two people…'_


	2. Chapter 2: Allen

This one is a little shorter. I have a feeling that most of the chapters are going to be short, but that just means there will be more of them. ;)

^_^ Thanks for your kind words, everyone! I wasn't really sure about this story, but I really like writing it, so I guess it's okay. I'm gonna respond to your reviews at the bottom, mmkay? Also, be sure to check out my other stories! Thank you! Please Enjoy and Review!

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><p>"Alright, boy. Listen up."<p>

Allen dully looked toward his mentor. Yesterday had been the day of reckoning—the day he saw the faces of the people whose lives would be taken. He felt hollow inside. Not only was he being forced to mate, but he was also being forced to murder.

"I've used my magic to track down the humans. Fortunately, our Lord Neptune is wise and has made sure that both your targets are on the same ship. If you swim south for about a day and a half, you should be able to catch up with it."

"But Master, I don't even know how-"

General Cross cut Allen off. "Yes, yes, I'm getting to that. All Merfolk have a bit of magic within them that they can use, no matter how old or inexperienced they might be."

"That's how we communicate with other ocean dwellers, right?" Allen asked.

"Yeah. That is one innate magic ability that we all have. But, magic is at the core of our being, and we can use it in many ways. Another way is the ability to mate. For Merfolk, mating is not a physical thing, but a magical thing. This particular kind of magic builds throughout our youth and comes to its zenith around our 250th year. However, once it has reached its peak, the energy begins to be released very swiftly, which is why we do not have very long before we are no longer able to create offspring."

"But that doesn't explain-"

"I'm getting to it! Geez, have patience. Anyway…All you have to do is take a bit of their soul and surround it with your magic. That soul piece will form the foundation for your power to build upon and this will make a new child. Most of the time, this only results in one, but occasionally, twins like Lenalee and Komui are born."

Allen just cocked his head to show that he didn't entirely comprehend this.

"Won't taking their soul apart kill them?" He asked, confused.

"Yes. You already knew about that though."

"I thought you said that the humans were traditionally…drowned?"

"It isn't the act of taking out some of their soul that kills them. When their soul is split apart, they loose their will, and thus, their ability to move. All their senses are dulled to where they can't feel the pain of suffocation, and they drown. It isn't like we can go to land and do this, because we'd be killed. And, even if we could, the remainder of their life wouldn't amount to much. It's actually much kinder to do it this way."

After mulling that over for a moment, a thought occurred to Allen.

"You said that in ancient times, the humans willingly mated with us. They actually agreed to something like that?"

"Yes. We would take their old and sick that were destined to die soon anyway and use their waning time to create new life. It was considered a very honorable way to go, and it put people who were suffering out of their misery. The only thing we ever did was help them, and those scum betrayed us anyway."

Allen looked away. All his life, he'd been told how horrible humans were, but he still couldn't justify taking a life based on past transgressions.

"Stupid apprentice."

Allen snapped out of his reverie and once again looked at the man who had served as his mentor for so many years.

"You mustn't let yourself begin to feel sorry for them, boy. Their faces may look like ours, but underneath that, they couldn't be more different. They're evil, Allen. You of all people should understand that. Don't you remember what they did to your father?"

At the mention of his beloved father, Allen felt the hot sting of tears behind his eyes. Flashes of memory burst forth in his mind, recalling that horrible time, nearly two centuries ago.

"We're sorry, Allen. Mana…isn't coming back."

"I remember." Came the shaky whisper.

"Good. Now get going. And make sure to take care of both humans that we saw."

Slowly, Allen nodded, then turned and swam off into the boundless blue sea.

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><p>As the white haired youth swam, he had lots of time to think. And think he did. Although it sounded more like an argument in his head.<p>

'Master Cross was right…because of the humans, Mana was…'

'But can I blame the sins of those few on all of them? Are they all truly evil?'

'They drove us to the depths of the ocean out of fear and ignorance. Surely their lives aren't worth sparing.'

'Is it really my place to deliver judgment on another person?'

Allen's thoughts just kept swirling around in his brain, each idea a car on a never-ending circular track that was starting to leave him dizzy. Every time he called up the face of his father to try and steel his nerves, the faces in the pearl shot to the forefront of his mind.

Now that he looked back on it, they were both quite beautiful. One had been quite serious looking with just about the prettiest hair he'd ever seen. The other had been smiling in that image, reddish hair framing his face handsomely. Could they really be evil?

As he came closer to his destination, he made a decision.

'I'll just have to observe them for a little while. I can make my decision then.'

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

EvangelineRose2412- Thanks! I really wanted to try writing a quality 'good' love triangle. I am super happy that you are enjoying it!

Slave-Of-Boredom-Thank you!

CANDY-^_^ I will be sure to continue with it.

-Lol. I am glad you like it.

Fuyublue-I will be sure to post more soon.


	3. Chapter 3: Allen

Heyyy. I was browsing through the DGM fanfictions and I noticed something….like, 90% of them are sorta mediocre. That makes me sad, because DGM is so awesome…

Also, my knowledge of marine life is quite limited, so if certain animals/plants do no exist in the same places, please forgive me. Again, replying to reviews at the bottom.

Mermaids don't have doors…I never really thought about that before…*giggle* Allen's pronunciation of names is soooo cute…

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><p>Allen was drifting, his fins moving without him really telling them to. He was preoccupied with taking in his surroundings. It had been a very long time since he'd been able to visit shallow waters, and he was enjoying it very much.<p>

While he never had any trouble seeing in the deep ocean, things were certainly less vibrant down there. The water here was much warmer, and it was a crystalline blue. Rays of sunlight penetrated the surface, the columns of light giving everything a surreal glow. Small colorful fish darted to and fro, sea plants softly waving in their wake.

Allen stopped a passing sea turtle to ask for directions. He liked turtles, because even if they were a bit slow, they were far smarter than the majority of fish in the sea.

_"Excuse me."_ He called out with his mind.

_"…Yeeees?"_

_"Have there been any ships though here lately?"_

_"Hmmm…let me thiiiink…perhapsss…"_

Allen waited patiently for her (at least, he assumed it was female) to gather her thoughts.

_"Ah, yeees…about an hour weesstt ooof hereee…"_

_"Thank you very much."_ Allen swam in a full circle to show his appreciation.

_"You are weeelllcoooomee, yoouunng one…"_

Allen nodded and swam off toward the nearest kelp bed to grab some lunch, then resumed his journey.

Part of him was dreading this, and part of him was oddly excited. He'd never seen a real human before, and he was eager to find out what they were really like.

Eventually, he came upon ripples in the water that could only have been made by a ship or a whale, and he knew that he was very close. Swiftly he swam, coming up short when he saw a massive shadow cut across the ocean floor. Upon looking up, he gasped.

That thing was _huge_.

The bottom of the boat was easily the size of a healthy whale, and from the way it dipped into the water, Allen was sure it was taller than the aforementioned mammal.

He shook his head vigorously and chastised himself for loosing focus. One had to be aware of their surroundings when around a boat. Those fishing nets could sneak up on you. He had to be careful; otherwise he'd end up like Mana…

He paused for a moment before cautiously swimming toward the large vessel. He swam beneath it for a bit, looking for danger of any kind. When he didn't see anything that could hurt him, slowly, he floated up the side of the ship and broke the surface of the water just enough to see.

Well, it was certainly…large. And brown. And covered in barnacles. From this angle, he couldn't see much else. Distantly, he wondered what allowed something this big to float. Perhaps it was enchanted? Or maybe it was the strange material the craft was made of? Once again, he shook himself from these stray thoughts and looked for a better vantage point.

To his left, the side of the boat jutted out a bit. Not the most comfortable place, but it was better than nothing. He leaped from the waters, subtly willing the waves to help push him up.

He flopped onto the hard surface, clutching at it to keep from falling off, hoping that he wasn't making too much noise. He listened for any indication that he'd been seen, but everything he heard was just a jumble of nonsense that he couldn't make heads or tails of.

_'I've never heard that language before…I wonder if I can use magic to understand it?'_

Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, acclimating himself to the use of his windpipe rather than his gills and concentrated on the illusive warmth at the core of his being. He mentally urged it up towards his head and felt the faint popping in his ears that signaled that it had worked.

"-and you can't just brush it off like that. What would you do if Kanda found out you were slacking off?"

"Ugh. Don't even joke about that, mate. That man is terrifying."

"Then put your back into it!"

Well, whoever this Cah-n-dah person was, Allen certainly didn't want to be caught by them. Slowly, he raised his body and peered around some rigging.

Neither of the people there looked like the ones he was searching for, but he continued to listen to them anyway.

"Man, the Bookman is crazy for taking the charter ship of the fleet out for nothing like this."

"It isn't for nothing. They are studying…something. I dunno, I wont pretend to understand those bookish types."

"What d'you recon they're looking for?"

"I heard the king is in ill health. Perhaps they are searching for a way to lengthen his life?"

"As good a guess as any, I suppose."

The two continued talking about this and that and scrubbing the already clean looking surface for the better part of an hour. Allen had to duck every time they came close to where he was hiding, but other than that, the time passed uneventfully.

Just as he was beginning to get bored, Allen saw something move. Part of the structure of the ship moved and swung outward, revealing a face Allen recognized. The dark haired one that had been shown to him walked out into the sunlight, even more stunning in person than he'd been in the image.

His face was very angular, only adding to the serious disposition that his posture belied. His eyes were sharp and dark, giving off a very mysterious aura. His hair was long and lovely, shining almost blue in the sun. Allen wondered what he looked like when he smiled.

Allen had been so enraptured by his face, that he almost missed it when he started to speak.

"You men are dismissed. Attend dinner below deck."

"Y-Yes, Kanda, Sir!" The two said in unison, then they scurried through the opening that Allen's target had come through.

_'So this is Cah-n-dah…why are they so frightened of such a beautiful person?'_

The gorgeous man walked toward the side of the ship, dangerously close to where Allen was hiding. The merman ducked, staying low on his perch.

After a few moments, 'Cah-n-dah' spoke.

"Come out. I know you're there."

Allen froze, not even daring to breathe. Had he been discovered?

"Haha. Caught me. How did you know I was here, Yuu?"

Allen cocked his head at this new voice, silently thanking Neptune that he hadn't been spotted.

"Because you are a predictable idiot, Lavi. And don't use my first name."

Allen heard footsteps come toward his spot and glanced toward Cah-n-dah to see yet another face he recognized from the pearl.

This man, 'Lah-vee', was also extraordinarily handsome. He had something covering one eye and some material on his forehead, causing his vibrant hair to fall at odd angles. He had an easy grin on his face and a twinkle in his visible eye.

As the new arrival came to stand beside Cah-n-dah, Allen thought that the contrast between the two was quite fetching.

"Aww, don't be like that, Yuu. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Feh. What do you want?"

"Just getting some air. The old man can be a real slave driver."

"What are you two doing on this expedition, anyway?"

"Well, We've been working along with Bak-chan, lending him our knowledge of marine life. You see, he's studying the effects of kelp-extract and fish oil on various aspects of human health, such as…"

At some point during the long-winded explanation, Allen became acutely aware of the fact that nobody else was around. Both men he'd been sent to kidnap were here, conveniently alone and unaware. This was the perfect chance.

_'Should I really do it?'_

Within the depths of his mind, Allen heard Master Cross' warning about not feeling for the evil humans. With this in mind, he acted before he could convince himself otherwise.

He flipped onto the main part of the ship, startling both men in the process. He used their momentary surprise to his advantage and summoned up a wave of magic and lassoed it around them, binding them in place.

"What the hell?" Cah-n-dah yelled.

"I'm sorry." Allen breathed.

He closed his eyes and reached deep within himself, looking for a spark of magic that felt different from usual. He felt the force surge to answer his call, rearing up with a primal roar. Allen shivered. That was a lot of magic.

He pushed it outward, once again aiming at the two men. He could sense their spirits, helpless and ripe for the taking. He could easily tear their souls asunder with this much power. Once again, voices sounded in his head.

_'Do it! The humans deserve it!'_

_'But…they haven't shown any signs of being evil…'_

That single moment of hesitation was enough to break his concentration and weaken the magic binding the humans.

The dark haired one was up in an instant, kicking Allen in the face and hurling him back against the side rail. Through the pain, Allen saw him draw a wicked looking weapon that he'd failed to identify earlier and begin to march his way.

_'Great. I'm going to die. Neptune, forgive me for being such an idiot.'_

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

fangirl12232- Lol. They don't have mushrooms in the ocean, so he probably wouldn't even be able to identify that much.

lazycookies- Wow! Thanks for such high praise!

Meyumi- I am glad you like it!

EvangelineRose2412- Meh. Allen wont be having any children in this story anyway. XD

CANDY- ^_^

HinLove- I hope I can keep you interested!

E Bast- ;P

Bex the Hat- I am happy you are enjoying it!


	4. Chapter 4: Allen

A **VERY **short chapter. In fact, it really doesn't count as a chapter, it is more like a transition. But I couldn't make it mesh with the next part very well, so I just decided to post it and move on. ^_^

BTW: **Yuerai** asked me a good question, so I will respond to it up here, so everyone can see the answer. As to who is going to be uke or seme, I have no real preference. I have always been a fan of reversible parings, but in general, I think Kanda tops. That just fits his personality more. I may switch things around once or twice for fun, but Mostly it will be Kanda-Lavi-Allen. Sorry for any confusion.

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><p>Swiftly, the furious man marched toward Allen, further sealing the merman's fate with each step. Allen was torn between feeling like he deserved this, and screaming out at the injustice of it all. Cah-n-dah raised his sword, preparing to strike. Allen was too emotionally conflicted to do anything but close his eyes and wait for the end.<p>

However, that end never came.

After a few moments of tense waiting, Allen realized that he wasn't dead yet and opened his eyes to see Lah-vee holding the other man back.

"What the hell are you doing, Lavi!" Cah-n-dah shouted.

"Wait, Yuu! You can't just kill it!"

_'No way…this human is…saving me?'_ Suddenly, Allen felt even worse for attacking them.

"What? That thing tried to kill us!"

"A blessing in disguise! This could be the answer we are searching for! We have to capture it alive and study it!"

The merman felt his stomach flip at those coldly delighted words.

"A blessing? That thing is obviously a mermaid! They seduce men, entrap their souls and eat their bodies. We must kill it before it can do any more harm. Now let me go!"

Slowly, Allen began inching off to the side while scrambling to find his power again. But, his mindset was so chaotic that he couldn't seem to get a hold of his magic at all. He would have to do this the old fashioned way, then. He tried to maneuver in such a way that he wouldn't attract attention to himself as the two argued and reached up to haul himself up over the side of the ship and back into the safety of the water.

Unfortunately, this did not seem to be a good day for the white haired young man, because Lah-vee spotted him and yelled out.

"Ah, look! The mermaid will get away at this rate! Just help me catch him, Yuu, please!"

"Fine! Just get off me, will you?"

At this, Allen scrambled to get over the railing, which was hard to do when one had fins instead of legs. Just when he thought he had made it and began to launch himself over the side, he felt himself fall into something and tumble backward, landing hard on the boat once more.

At first, he didn't know what had happened, but as he looked around and got his bearings, he knew it was all over.

He was in a net. Caught in a human's trap, just like Mana had been…all rational thought left him, and he immediately tried to flee, flipping his fins in a vain attempt to swim through water that wasn't there, every inch of him screaming to get back in the ocean. But he couldn't move, he couldn't find his magic, and he couldn't think straight enough to use his lungs. He tried to breathe through his gills, but they were unable to process air, and slowly, blackness began to invade his vision.

He was frightened, and for the first time since his father had died, he felt truly helpless.

The last thought that crossed his oxygen-starved mind before he passed out was:

_'I hope they just kill me and get it over with.'_

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

xenawp532- Glad you like it!

Sanao Mikaru- This doesn't really tell you much, but still….I hope it's okay!

VineCaper- I am glad you like it! I try to make my stories interesting.

EvangelineRose2412- So happy you are continuing to like it!

dakenolebeau- Allen is adorable, huh?

AnimeFreak4261- It will be very hard to write for this threesome, but I am determined to do it!

lazycookies- Hehe, one review is all it takes! –hugs-

fangirl12232- Uhh…kay?

neko-san- Sorry, I don't speak Spanish…but I am really happy that you like it!

XxGothisXxLolitaxX- I love stories about mythical creatures too…they are so fun!

i1love1yaoi- I am glad you find it enjoyable!


	5. Chapter 5: Allen

Heyo! How are you guys doing? Sorry that it has been a while since my last update, but I imagine that you will find over the course of this story that I am neither swift, nor am I a regular updater. I just do as best as I can. It's summer now, which will actually mean that I will be writing less, seeing as all I do at school is write to get away from the boring lectures. Online classes are sort of a joke.

Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you all. I **will **continue this story, no matter how long it takes me to write it, so long as you continue to read it. Some of the best stories out there have just ended half way because the author gave up, or became interested in something else. And I really fucking hate that. So, let it be said, that as long as you review, and let me know what you think, no matter how long between update, or how hard it is to write, this story will continue until the end, no matter what.

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><p>Slowly, Allen came into awareness. First, he realized that he was floating, but the water didn't feel quite right. Next, his sense of hearing came to him, and he thought that the ocean was oddly quiet. Then his sense of smell kicked in, telling him that the normal scent of many, many fish was surprisingly absent. Finally, he opened his eyes, and waited for his vision to clear.<p>

Once his eyes had adjusted, Allen felt his blood freeze in his veins. Slowly, dread settled into the pit of his stomach, the scene around him instantly reminding him of what had transpired before he lost consciousness.

He was in luke-warm water, somehow contained within a space barely big enough for him to move in. He reached out a hand and touched the hard, clear surface, recognizing it as the same as the glass held by sunken ships. He knew from experience that he could break it, but in this tiny space, there way no way he'd be able to get enough leverage to do so.

But it was what was outside the glass barrier that left him feeling panicked. He was clearly inside the ship, the four walls on the other side of his prison being made of the same substance. There were various pieces of furniture and other things that he couldn't identify, none of which made him feel any better.

Those humans had captured him.

Silently, he berated himself for his weakness, certain now that Master Cross had been right, that Men were evil, heartless creatures.

At the thought of his mentor, Allen's racing heart calmed a bit, the edgy feeling slowly being replaced by a deep despair. He had no idea if he would ever see home again. Would his friends worry about him? Would they resent him for being unable to produce the children that their people so desperately needed?

Allen shook his head.

'_No, I can't think like that. It isn't over yet. I have to look for a way out…perhaps I can reach my magic now?'_

Tentatively, he reached out with his mind, trying to touch the light at his core. It was definitely there, and he felt the force reach out to soothe his frayed nerves. He smiled faintly, sending a silent prayer of thanks to Neptune for allowing him to access his power once more. However, he knew it would not be enough to escape the ship alive.

He reached out once more, this time calling for the immense power he'd felt earlier, the strong, ancient magic used for mating. He could feel it there, lurking just beneath the surface of his soul, but it would not answer his call.

Allen huffed in frustration. He would just have to wait for an opportunity to escape to present itself, then.

He wasn't sure how long he was in there, since there was no sunlight to judge by. But, after a while, the structure moved yet again, revealing the face of Lah-vee.

The man seemed surprised and delighted to find that his prisoner was awake and turned around to say something, which Allen couldn't hear through the glass. A shorter human made his way around the red-haired man and walked straight up to the glass, coming face to face with the trapped merman.

This human appeared to be older, his face sagging and his back slightly hunched. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his head was mostly bald, save for one oddly positioned bit of hair that stuck up in the back.

The little man simply peered at him for the better part of five minutes until Allen got fed up with the staring contest and stuck his tongue out at him, uncaring of the consequences.

The old man jerked back a little in surprise, and Lah-vee fell to the floor. At first, Allen thought he'd hurt himself, but then he saw that the red head was laughing, though he couldn't hear it through the glass.

'_I wonder what his laugh sounds like…'_

The little old man glared for a moment, then turned and said something toward Lah-vee that made him immediately stand up and move closer. They spoke to each other, every once in a while gesturing toward Allen, and eventually, the old man nodded and left. As soon as the older man disappeared through the room's exit, the smile fell from the red head's face, to be replaced with a distant indifference that made Allen shiver.

Lah-vee then looked toward Allen, though it seemed like he was refusing to meet the merman's eyes. He watched, and seemed to be waiting for something to happen, as if he thought Allen would try and attack him from inside the little box they'd stuck him in.

After a long time of Lah-vee simply standing around, (Allen assumed it was because he'd been told to keep tabs on their captive) Allen started to get bored.

'_Perhaps I can trick the human into letting me out?'_

Slowly, without really knowing what he was going to do, Allen reached out to tap on the glass.

Lah-vee just cocked his head, but made no move to interact with the white haired youth.

Allen pursed his lips and tried again, rapping on the hard glass more firmly this time. When he still didn't get a response, he huffed, and stuck his tongue out, hoping to get a similar reaction as last time. To his chagrin, nothing happened.

'_He was so chipper before…maybe that was an act?'_

Eventually, the old man returned, with others in tow. A young, blonde man walked in and immediately started examining Allen. The old man came in after him, quickly followed by a very annoyed Cah-n-dah. As soon as the dark haired man entered the room, it felt as though the temperature had dropped several degrees. The obviously unhappy human narrowed his eyes at the poor merman and placed his hand meaningfully on his weapon before he moved to the corner of the room.

The tall blonde and the elderly man quickly fell into a conversation, which Allen assumed was about him. Then, they seemed to come to some sort of agreement, and all the men converged on the glass box. Cah-n-dah fell into a fighting stance, while Lah-vee and the blonde moved around to the sides of Allen's prison and began fiddling with it.

'_No way…are they going to let me out?'_

Sure enough, they swiftly lifted the top of his cage off and set it down. Allen started to sit up, but was forced to stop when a very sharp, very deadly sword came to rest at his throat. Allen's head was just above the somewhat stagnant water, so he heard Cah-n-dah say something, but huffed when he realized that his magic from earlier had worn off, and he could no longer understand the human's language.

Allen closed his eyes, once again reminding himself that he had to use his lungs, and made a grab for his magic. He forced it up, toward his ears, but this time sent some of it toward his mouth as well. When he felt the faint popping in his ears, he opened his eyes again and looked at the men around him.

"I don't think it understands what you said." The blond man spoke up.

"Perhaps mermaids don't speak?" Lah-vee suggested.

Allen snorted, drawing looks of surprise from all around.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I am clearly a mer_man_, not a mer_maid_."

The men just blinked in stunned silence for a moment, apparently caught off guard by Allen's mastery of speech.

"So, you can talk!" Lah-vee exclaimed.

"Of course I can talk. Now, would you mind letting me go? I have very important matters to attend to elsewhere."

"Oh, no, that isn't going to work. We aren't just going to set you free," said the blonde.

"No, we wont. Don't try anything funny, or I will run you through quicker than you can blink." Cah-n-dah added.

Allen sighed. Clearly, he wouldn't be able to charm his way out of this with the long haired man around.

"Well. Since it seems as though we will be seeing a lot of each other, we may as well be civil. Care to introduce yourselves?"

"Don't tell him your names! Mermaids can use them to ensnare their prey before they devour them." Cah-n-dah snapped.

"Devour? You think I'd want to eat you? That's…probably the most disgusting thing I've ever heard, to be honest. Merfolk don't eat meat."

"Oh?" the old man spoke up for the first time. "Then what do you eat?"

"Kelp and seaweed, mostly. And, just for your information, your names cannot be used against you in such a way. That's nonsense."

"Don't believe a word this wretch says." Cah-n-dah growled.

"And why, exactly, would I be compelled to lie to you, seeing as your weapon is at my throat, Cah-n-dah?"

The room was silent for a moment, until Lah-vee burst out laughing.

"It's pronounced 'Kanda'."

"Lavi!"

"What's the harm? He hasn't tried to do anything yet."

"And I assure you, I wont." Allen shook his head and continued. "I want nothing to do with humans, I just wish to return to the ocean."

"You want nothing to do with us?" Kanda all but shouted. "Then why the hell would you attack us?"

Allen flinched. He had a point…

When Allen refused to speak anymore on the subject, Kanda huffed in annoyance.

"Right. Well." The blonde cleared his throat. "Might you tell us your name?"

"I'll tell you, if you tell me what you are planning on doing with me."

"Oh, just some scientific tests, nothing to worry about. We are trying to find a way to lengthen life, and mermaids-ah, excuse me. Mer_men _are blessed with longevity. Tell us, what is the secret behind it?"

"Secret? There is no secret. We are just made to live longer than humans."

"Pity. I suppose we will just have to keep you here until we figure it out then. Please, enjoy your stay."

Allen was then shoved roughly back into the water and the top of the glass container was replaced.

As he looked at their faces from the water once more, he shivered. No matter how politely they talked, no matter how often they smiled, all the humans had one thing in common. Their eyes held a cold indifference, and a vengeful light that told him he'd been wrong all along.

Humans were heartless.

They were monsters.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

AnimeFreak4261- Hehe, thanks for your kind words. As for Allen getting legs…you will just have to wait and see. ^_~

sweetkakes35- I am happy that you think it is unique…Thanks!

EvangelineRose2412- ^_^ Did you like it?

xenawp532- Poor Allen…he just can't catch a break, can he?

lazycookies- I'm sorta kinda addicted to your reviews! Thanks for sticking with me!

Belletiger- Hehe. Poor Allen-chan. ^_^ He will find better days…eventually.

Erin Bast- I lyke turtlez.

Meyumi-Here's more for you!

Hard Candy- El español no es sin embargo mi lengua materna, yo ha dominado el uso de los traductores del Internet.

Yuerai- Yeah, the roles being reversed is nice, every now and then. ^_^

ForgottenPassword- I am glad you like it so far. Hmmm….what would Lavi do with a passed out mermaid, huh. *pervy smile*

i1love1yaoi-No, don't die! I updated for you!

[blank]-Kanda is mean, but that's okay. He's hot when he's angry.

neko-san- I am glad you like it! Don't be sorry! That's what online translators are for.

Hascuko- I'm glad you like it!

Animeloverx175- Yay! Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6: Allen

Uggghhhh. Life is bland!

Anyway. Sorry it took so long…I am a horrible updater. This chapter is a bit short, so sorry about that too. I am thinking about doing the next chapter from Lavi's POV…I think that would really help the story along.

Also! Thank you sooooo much for all your comments! They helped me to get going again. ^_^

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><p>At first, he had been terrified. Eventually, that had given way to a hollow, aching numbness. After that had come a sense of apprehension tempered by careful plotting.<p>

And now?

Now, Allen was pissed.

He'd been in the cramped little tank for the better part of a week. That much, he was sure of. What he wasn't sure of was the humans' intentions toward him.

The days had fallen into a strange routine, the cycle repeating every morning, which gave Allen some sense of the passing time.

Lavi (Allen had finally picked up on the proper pronunciation of his name after hearing it a couple times, and felt quite silly for not figuring out how to say it sooner) would come in every morning and take a seat, just staring at the merman, as if expecting some change. Then, after about an hour, the blonde, who's name Allen still didn't know, came in and studied his captive, walking around, watching, fiddling with things and just generally hovering for no reason. Then the two would chat for a bit, and they would leave.

A few minutes after they departed, Kanda would come in, accompanied by another man he'd never seen, and they would quickly open the tank just long enough to throw in some seaweed. At first, Allen had ignored the offered meal, but eventually, he gave in and ate. The plant was always too tough from having been exposed to air for too long, but it didn't taste too bad.

The dark haired man would always make a point of leaving as soon as physically possible, so after he and his friend left, Allen would have time to himself until the process began again the next morning.

In these long, monotonous nighttime hours, Allen had plenty of time to think. So, he thought. And thought. And thought some more. His brain constantly whirled in circles, spinning too fast for him to really keep up with. Eventually, Allen's mind would tire itself out and he would fall into a restless slumber. He could never remember much of what he'd thought about the next day, only that the thoughts were getting darker with every passing evening.

In the early hours of each morning, he would abruptly snap into awareness again, somehow always waking up before the daily visitors made their appearance.

On this particular day, Allen decided that he'd had quite enough. When Lavi came in that morning, Allen reached out and tapped on the glass once more.

And yet again, there was no response. But Allen was far too angry to take that as an answer.

Instead of falling back into silence, he reared back as much as he could in the small space and slammed his tail into the glass.

The red head made no sign of actually moving, though Allen thought his eye grew a bit wider.

So, he did it again, and pointed toward the lid, hoping that the one eyed idiot would just _move _already.

Lavi just cocked an eyebrow at him and resumed his pointless staring.

Allen growled, glaring at the room's other occupant.

'_You know what? To hell with it. I am fed up with this nonsense.' _The merman thought to himself.

He closed his eyes and pressed his palms against the top of his prison. Allen called to his magic and felt it surge up through his arms and into his hands. Putting all the force of his anger and fear into it, Allen _pushed_.

The white haired boy's intention was to put just enough pressure on the glass box, so that the lock would pop open and he could slide the lid off. However, with all the strong emotions mixed in with the magic, the result was more like a miniature explosion. The lid of the tank blew clean off, and much of the water followed suit, spraying the entire room with stale smelling ocean.

The brief surge of upward motion that Allen's body took was almost immediately cut off by something pushing down on his chest.

Slowly, Allen opened the eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed to see a hand pressing against his collarbones. He let his eyes travel upward, following the lines of the strong arm, to a well defined shoulder, let his gaze slide past a slender neck and finally come to rest of the face of his captor.

Lavi was panting very hard, standing over the tank, looking ready for a fight. Of course, the effect was dampened a bit by his being absolutely drenched. Seeing this land loving human sopping wet sort of made Allen want to laugh, but also brought along with it a strange heat that pooled in his stomach.

Pushing away the odd sensation, Allen went with his first instinct and laughed. And once he started, he found that he couldn't stop. Allen laughed harder than he could ever remember, releasing all the stress of the past few days in the form of hysterical giggles.

"W-What's so funny, merman?" The disgruntled human asked.

Allen tried to calm his laughter, desperately dragging air into his lungs, secretly proud that he'd remembered to use his windpipe this time. Slowly, he came down off the miniature high, wincing a bit because of his now aching sides.

When the merman could finally breathe enough to answer, he smirked at Lavi.

"I finally got you to move." Allen said, flipping his fins happily.

The redhead just blinked and shook his head slightly.

"Just because you did that, don't think you can esca-"

"What, are you kidding?" Allen asked, cutting the human off. "If I thought I could get out of here on my own, don't you think I'd have done that already? I was just sick of being stuck in stagnant water with nothing to do. Really, you should change that vile stuff more often."

"You…you sprayed me with water just so I would change it?"

"Well, that wasn't my initial intent, but that will do nicely. Call in your blonde friend and tell him to stop standing around so uselessly and get me some fresh ocean water."

Lavi gave Allen a dry, untrusting look. "You know, the prisoner doesn't usually get to give orders."

The merman shrugged. "Eh. I've never been one for sticking to the norm, even among my own people. Why should I bother adhering to the standards of yours?"

The human gave a long-suffering sigh. "I guess you wouldn't…I have a question for you."

Allen cocked his head to show that he was listening.

"Though you have a bit of an attitude, you haven't made any move for violence since we captured you…even if you can't get off the ship, you could have done something, if you have enough power to blow your tank…and yet you attacked us that first day. Why?"

The white haired youth looked down, remembering the ceremony and his mentor's words with crystal clarity. "I didn't really have much of a choice…" Allen murmured to himself.

"Didn't have a choice? Someone forced you to do this?"

Allen started at Lavi's words, and pursed his lips, clearly unwilling to speak on the subject any further.

"Just…get me some more water."

Allen turned his head away, completely missing the odd look that passed over the human's face.

Had the merman bothered to look back as the redhead walked to the door and called for assistance with the mess, he might have noticed the expression was something akin to concern.

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

HeidiFox- A meanie face? ~giggle~ Yes, I suppose he is.

Belletiger BT- Torture? No, probably not. ^_^ I just don't have the heart to do that.

sweetcakes35- I understand how you feel. Even though I am horrible at updating, I will keep my promise. ^_^ The story shall go on.

Cah-n-Dah- XD I dunno about quicker updates. Sorry about that. I will do my best though. Thank for reading! (PS, love the name!)

Forgottenpassword- XDD Thank you! I like mermaid stories, so I am glad to hear that you think I am doing this well.

Meyumi- Thank you!

Hard Candy- Entiendo. No se preocupe. Gracias por su alabanza.

Sweet Veleno- I am so happy you are liking it!

Fool'sNocturne- Thank you so much! ~hug~

LiveInTheMomentx- Wow, thank you.

xenawp532- Thank you!

Pawliine- I am so happy you like it!

wooooooooooxj- Capt-n-Crunch….LOL!

neko-san- Yullen is fun, I agree! Kanda is super sexy. XD

Kono-kun- ~noms cookie~ It hasn't stopped. Just took a short nap. XD

Lazycookies- WHY ARE YOUR REVIEWS SO AWESOME?

moonchaser316- Thank you soooo much!

i1love1yaoi- Dun die. Here's more. ^_^

Tomoyo-chan284- Thanks! Allen is just awesome in general.

Conrii- T^T Sowwy. I'm bad at writing long chapters.

Silvermane1- Updated!

Glassy- Thanks! I am excited as well!

RBO- The blonde one is Bak, I just haven't introduced him to Allen yet. ^_^

kandaz- I'm so sorry it took so long! Here you go!


	7. Chapter 7: Lavi

Lavi is my favorite character, btw. I luffs him. And, I will apologize to the Yullen fans-it will have to wait. Their (namely, Kanda's) personalities just don't allow for quick moving relationships and seeing past the exterior to the person underneath the fins. ^_^; It will come, I promise, but I need to build up Lavi and Allen a bit, so they can act as an emotional catalyst for the swordsman, because he will never develop/admit feelings on his own. So...bear with me? I won't be leaving Kanda totally out of the story, or anything, but with him, stuff tends to take time. So yeah. Sorry about that. However, do not fear. School has started up again, which actually means that I will be writing more, since it is one of the few ways to get away from boring ass lectures. So, hopefully, I will update more. I can't make any solid promises, but you should see a bit more of me in the coming months. At least a little. ^_^;

ALSO-Beta, beta, beta. I want one. I don't think my usual beta is that interested in DGM, and I won't force her to help with characters that are unfamiliar to her. So, if you know someone who might be interested, or you are interested in influencing this story yourself, please, PM me! This will mostly involve grammar stuff (though I try to stay on top of that myself), helping me stay away from too much OOCness, and making sure the flow of the story doesn't suck.

Anyway...I've decided that this one will be from Lavi's POV...mostly introspective stuff. Hope you like! Also, I want to establish the setting just a bit more...hopefully, I will expand on that even more at some point. I don't know much about mermaid lore, and I simply skimmed the Wikipedia article and decided that I don't particularly care about that crap, so I am making my own assumptions and myths. I also am not totally aware of a time line...so dress and custom will probably wind up being an uninformed blend of various times and cultures, and most likely will not add up if you try to think about it too hard. For reference, I was inspired to write this after watching The Pirates of The Caribbean, so the story more or less takes place around that time...not that I know when 'that time' actually is, but you get the main idea. I realize that it would be more legit if I researched this but, fortunately, this is fiction, which is expressly tailored to fit lazy bums like me who don't care enough to observe reality.

P.S.-KandaxLavi, anyone? **Non-graphic kinda implied smut warning for this chapter. **(Allen with long hair is hot. Also, no scar. You will understand why I made so many changes to his character design later on.)

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><p>The door leading to the upper deck swung open, revealing an endless starry sky reaching down to kiss the glassy ocean.<p>

All the beauty was lost on a certain redhead though, as he moved to lean against the railing of the ship while staring at his feet. There were several ship mates on deck performing various duties, but they all took care to give him a wide berth, so there really wasn't anyone around to distract him from his thoughts.

_'The merman said he didn't have a choice but to confront us...someone forced him to do it?'_

Lavi tilted his head back and blindly observed the sky. The Bookman in him was distantly interested in the merman, the cold, scientific want of knowledge fueling his observations.

But, loathe as he was to admit it, there was something...else. Lavi couldn't quite pinpoint _what _it was exactly, but it was there. Something in the back of his mind alerted him to the fact that the merman was not the evil sea beast that sailors often made them out to be. Perhaps it was in the set of the boy's jaw, or the odd light in his eyes, but something definitely wasn't adding up.

Over the years, Lavi had become quite good at observing and filing away facts. He knew there were many, many speculations about mermaids. Most of the stories whispered to impressionable sailor's sons were stemmed from folklore and were generally used to keep the young and superstitious away from the rockier areas of the ocean. In sea faring tales, mermaids were, without exception, charming and deadly, evil and beautiful. They were so ingrained in collective European culture, that they often adorned ships and sign posts of coastal towns to scare away evil spirits and remain as a constant reminder of the dangers of the sea.

Through his training as the heir to the Bookman legacy, Lavi also understood that these stories might be slightly blown out of proportion, simply due to the fact that humans and the sea folk used to be in close contact with each other, many generations ago. Human memory was a short, temperamental thing, but the Bookmen had been around for several centuries, and the records that he'd been given access to clearly indicated that once, long ago, humanity was not so closed off from the races of old. In fact, much of the knowledge of the sea that early humans had was gained through their ties with the ocean dwellers-namely merfolk.

All of these things were facts. Solid information was easy for Lavi to deal with and sort out. But when facts began to mingle with feelings, he was brought up short. Bookman Jr. shook his head and began to list off the solid bits of information he knew, in the hopes of sorting all of this out.

The creature they had caught was a merman. It had made no move for outright violence, with the exception of their first encounter. Some outside force appeared to be pulling the merman's strings. The merman was obviously intelligent and possessed a degree of magic which he appeared to be able to use at will, though it seemed as though he didn't have a large amount of power.

Then Lavi began to ponder the _feelings_ that accompanied thoughts of the merman. As a Bookman, he'd been trained to observe all things with an impartial eye, but having lived through battles had taught him to trust his instincts. His gut told him that the merman was surprisingly...human. The look in his eyes in the initial moments of the morning spoke of emotions that hit very close to home.

So lost in thought was the young man that he failed to notice that he was no longer alone until the newcomer was right next to him.

Lavi started slightly and looked over at Kanda Yuu. He was somewhat surprised that the Japanese man had somehow managed to make his handsome face appear even more menacing than usual.

"What's wrong?" Lavi asked, leaning away slightly.

"That...that _thing _had the audacity to make demands of us." Fury blazed behind black eyes, threatening to burn all passerby to a crisp. This had the interesting side effect of almost immediately clearing the deck of all life with the exception of Lavi and Kanda themselves.

"Hey...don't stress about it. We need to keep the merman healthy if we are to study it properly. Giving it fresher water is a small price to pay for accruing knowledge."

"Hmph." He huffed, and seemed to deflate a minuscule amount. "Whatever it is you guys are studying, finish it fast. I don't want that thing on the ship anymore. The sooner you get done, the sooner we can get rid of it and go back."

Lavi shrugged. "It'll get done when it gets done. Right now Bak-chan is studying it's habits and speculating on basic anatomy. Don't forget that the Order has been charged with finding a cure for the King's illness. This could be exactly what we are looking for, but it will take some patience."

Kanda snorted and shook his head. After a few minutes of non-murderous silence (which was pretty good, by Yuu's standards) he spoke again.

"Are you busy tonight?"

Lavi immediately understood the invitation for what it was, and wondered exactly how bothered the other man was by the merman's presence. For him to be so obvious about desiring anything other than soba, he must've been feeling pretty stressed.

"Not really. I have a book on marine life that I am busy with, and Old Man Panda and I have a meeting with Bak-chan to discuss the next steps to take...but after that, I'm free."

Kanda nodded and pushed away from the railing. He walked away without a word, only looking back once before he disappeared through the door. The dark gaze was filled with a primal, predatory heat.

Lavi shivered.

_'I wonder if that was really meant for me, or the merman...'_

* * *

><p>Lavi pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He immediately regretted the action, as it only inflamed his steadily growing headache.<p>

The meeting was _not _going well.

"I'm telling you, dissection is the obvious course of action." Bak began to use broad hand gestures with almost every word, as he usually did when he was frustrated.

The Bookman shook his head, his one tuft of hair swaying oddly. "No, it isn't. Humanity has not had contact with the merfolk for hundreds of years. The knowledge that could be gained through getting it to talk far outweighs the few facts of anatomy you would learn through cutting it up."

Bak shook his head. "We don't have that kind of time. We need to turn in the separate parts to a medical team, so they can make experimental medicine for the king."

"That is only taking a shot in the dark. If we interrogate the merman, perhaps it can lead us to a solid cure."

"It's already shown that it has the ability to resist us, even if it can't escape. What makes you think it would tell us anything about finding a cure?" Bak sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look. I don't think it will take kindly to interrogation and torture. If we do that, it will have time to strike back. If we catch it off guard and kill it in one stroke, we can do as we please without worrying about repercussions."

"It was luck that let us catch it. Another chance like this may not come for several centuries! We need to get all the information that we can before we kill it." Bookman nodded sagely, as if that would forestall any arguments.

Bak put a hand on his hip and narrowed his eyes. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Well, if we can manage to keep it disoriented through pain, we may be able to keep it from using magic. Then we can pry answers from it systematically."

"But extended interrogation only increases the chance that something will go wrong."

"If we can manage to-"

"Let me do it!" Lavi shouted, once he'd decided that he'd had quite enough.

Both men started at the exasperated outburst and turned to look at the redhead.

"Huh?" Bak cocked his head and looked at Bookman Jr. like he'd lost his mind.

"The King's illness is a slow degenerative disease. As long as we don't take months to figure this out, we still have time to act. So...let me do it."

The Bookman turned to fully face his apprentice. "Let you do what, exactly?"

"Let me talk to him. Give me some time-a couple weeks. Let me talk to the merman and try to befriend him. Maybe I can get him to talk freely. That way, we won't have to worry about him resisting, and we can get what we need in a timely manner. If we make him feel less threatened, he will be more likely to open up. A friendly face could be the right answer."

For a long time, the two other men just looked at him, and seemed to ponder the idea.

Finally, Bak seemed to deflate. "Two weeks. You've got two weeks to gather your information. After that, I am turning the merman over to Kanda."

Lavi looked to Bookman, seeking his permission to perform this task.

The only answer given for his unspoken question was a nod.

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><p><em>Heat. Pant. Move. <em>

_In. Out. Repeat._

_The sound of the blood rushing in his ears was all he could hear. His vision was slightly blurred, everything within his line of sight obscured by a curtain of inky black hair. __The low light and close quarters only seemed to add to the rising temperature of the room._

_He was distantly glad that the sounds of the ocean would help drown out the awful creaking noises he was sure the bed was making right now. _

_He enjoyed these times of mutual stress relief. They both knew that there was no real emotion within these moments of passion, but it was beneficial for both parties involved, so they chose to ignore the fact that this probably wasn't healthy._

_He liked being able to forget everything for a while and just savor the pleasant burn of carnal desire. _

_He could only hope that the flames wouldn't eventually engulf him._

* * *

><p>Lavi held in a groan and paused momentarily.<p>

His back hurt like hell, and he was walking like he had a watermelon shoved up his ass. He'd have to bitch at Kanda about being a little more gentle.

He shook his head and resumed his trek, doing his best to push aside the aches and pains that served as reminders of last night. He could deal with that later.

Right now, he had a job to do.

He walked down what could be vaguely interpreted as a hallway, but was more like a crawlspace. Finally, he came to the door he was looking for, the one that looked exactly all the others, except it had five locks on it, all of which required separate keys.

He went through what had quickly become his morning ritual, unlocking all the locks, always managing to put the key in wrong for at least one, and coming into a room that smelled vaguely of seaweed. The only things in here were some chairs and the tank which held their 'guest'.

However, this morning was a little different.

Rather than sitting down and observing, he went over to the tank and began to work the newly repaired lock.

This seemed to startle the merman, and he immediately got a guarded, untrusting look in his eyes. Lavi just shrugged it off, and continued to mess with the lock until he finally got the damn thing undone. Then he slid the lid of the tank off with a little difficulty and simply looked at its occupant.

When the merman didn't move for several seconds, Lavi rested his arms on the edge of the tank, and waited for him to react.

Slowly, warily, the merman rose, until he was fully sitting up, which put the water level at his chest.

Lavi raised a hand slightly in greeting. "Yo."

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing, really." The red head waved his hand dismissively. "I've just been getting really bored with sitting around watching you all day. And, after yesterday, I got curious. So, I figured I would stop resisting the urge to talk to you."

The merman cocked his head. "Talk to me? Why would you want to talk to me? I'm your prisoner, remember."

"True. But, it isn't like we want to kill you. Well, maybe Yuu does, but the rest of us don't."

Grey eyes narrowed slightly. "If you have no plans to torture or kill me, why are you keeping me here?"

"Because humans haven't actually been in prolonged close contact with a merman or mermaid in hundreds of years. We can learn so much by watching you, and it's too rare an opportunity to pass up. If we were positive you wouldn't just swim away, we'd let you out of the tank and let you swim alongside the ship." Which was a total lie of course, but the merman didn't have to know that.

"So, if I tell you what you want to know, you'll let me go?"

Lavi shrugged. "Dunno. I'm not in charge. But, there is a better chance of you getting out of here that way."

The merman sighed and cocked his head, staying silent for quite a while. Lavi took the chance to really observe him close up and out of water for once, re-cataloging all the details he'd seen over the past few days.

His hair was white and fell loosely to the middle of his back, though the texture was a little off because of the constant exposure to salt water. His eyes were a slate grey, which should have been a rather flat color, but they were actually very deep pools of light and shadow. His skin was fairly pale and surprisingly not pruned from being in the water all the time. Merfolk must've developed different skin composition to keep from absorbing all that moisture. He had no visible marks or scars. This told the red head that life had been fairly non-violent for the merman. His chest was exposed, and he seemed to feel no embarrassment over his nudity, meaning he had probably never worn clothes in his life. He was slight of build, but he had subtle muscles, built through years of swimming. At about the beginning of his pelvic area, the skin started to discolor, becoming slightly grey, and about half an inch into that the scales began.

The merman's tail was marvelous, each silver scale interwoven with the others, looking something like a cross between polished coins and chain mail. This was adorned by two sets of fins. One set was at the tip of his tail, large and ribbed, and slightly translucent. The other set was slightly smaller and more elongated and positioned about where his hips should have been. Bak speculated that these secondary fins were to help him maneuver in the water.

The oddest things were his ears. Most of the time, they were hidden by his hair, but occasionally he would move enough to let them show. They looked normal, until you got to the outer rim, where they sort of morphed into small fins that crested his ears. So far, none of the observation crew had been able to figure out what the function of this was.

All in all, he looked like something out of a fairytale.

Finally, the merman spoke.

"How old are you?"

"Huh?" Lavi's one eye widened slightly, caught off guard by the question.

"I always heard that humans didn't live as long as us. But, you look a little older than me. I was just wondering how fast humans age."

"I'm nineteen. What about you?"

"Nineteen! You are nineteen hundred years old?"

"No...I'm nineteen. As in, one year less than two decades."

The merman's eyes widened in wonder. "Just nineteen? Wow...your lives really are short."

"Human's typically only live about seventy years...just how long do merfolk live, anyway?"

"We usually live to be over ten centuries old...I just reached my 250th year."

Lavi was momentarily stunned by this revelation. He'd always known that merfolk lived a long time, but he had a hard time fathoming exactly what one would do with a thousand years to live.

"How do you manage to fill up that much time?" the red head asked in awe.

"Probably the same ways you do. Eat, sleep, eat some more. Though, you probably don't spend as much time chasing dolphins as I do."

Lavi chuckled. "No, can't say that I've ever done that." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and smiled. He hoped that the merman was gullible enough to fall for the friendly act.

"Well, you don't seem so bad. Why don't we start over?" He held out his left hand toward the merman, ignoring the fact that the edge of the tank was now digging into his upper arm. "I'm Lavi. Nice to meet you."

A head of snow white hair cocked to one side in suspicion and confusion as the merman stared at the offending appendage, obviously unsure of what Lavi was doing.

The redhead gave an internal sigh and pushed away fleeting thoughts of mermen looking like cute puppies. "It's a human custom to offer out a hand when you meet someone. You shake it."

Tentatively, the merman reached out with his right hand (Lavi wisely chose to ignore the fact that this was the wrong hand to use) and, with his thumb and index finger, pinched Lavi's palm and sort of jiggled it back and forth.

The strangeness of the gesture was lost on the human though, as he was a bit preoccupied. The moment skin met skin, it felt as though a jolt of electricity shot up his arm and into his stomach. Normally, he would have yanked his hand back, but the sensation left in the wake of the initial not-quite-pain was oddly pleasant, like being submerged in cool waters after a long day of working in the sun.

He let the contact continue for a few moments more before reluctantly retracting his hand, something inside him whimpering a bit when the merman let go. He distantly wondered if this was part of the allure that mermaids were legendary for.

"Uh..." Lavi blinked a couple times to clear his head of stray thoughts, filing away the odd reaction for later contemplation.

The red head focused in on the room's other occupant again. His face showed no signs of having experienced the same thing that Lavi had, but the teen noticed that he was clutching his right hand to his chest.

_'You're blowing it. Get back to the task at hand.' _

Lavi quickly pasted a smile on his face.

"It's customary to offer your name once you shake hands with someone."

"Ah. This is supposed to serve as a means of introduction then." The merman said.

Lavi nodded encouragingly.

"Alright. My given name is Allen, son of Mana, denizen of Deepsea, born under the star of Porrima. Greetings, Lavi, son of Adam."

It was now Lavi's turn to cock his head at the odd introduction.

The merman giggled. "That was a shortened version of a formal introduction translated from Oldspeak into your language. It means 'Hi, my name is Allen.' Those speeches tend to go a lot longer than what I just did, but I gave you all the important bits."

"Um, okay. Good to meet you, Allen."

The merman smiled and leaned back in his tank a bit. He opened his mouth and proceeded to speak in a language that Lavi didn't understand, but sounded very familiar, each syllable sliding off his tongue like liquid gold.

_"Shaer taer cestal."_

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><p>AN: That last sentence is "Well met, human." in Elvish. I got it from an online translator for D&amp;D geeks, so it may not be totally right, but it sounds cool. Initially, I was going to have Allen and the other merfolk speak in Latin, but that would be pretty easy for people like Lavi and Bookman to translate. So, Seaspeach is going to be a conglomeration of cool sounding words from various different things, probably, but Elvish is going to be my fall back language for now.<p>

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

HeidiFox- XD Lavi isn't a meanie face anymore! Yay!

Yuerai- Sorry the last chapter was so short. Meh, I hate stories that switch from 3rd to 1st person. If I was going to write this story in 1st, I would have started out that way. So, rest assured that won't change. ^_^

Sweet Veleno- Allen is adorable, I agree!

Forgottenpassword- Allen blew up tank fer lulz! Silly Allen!

Hinata's Shadow1- I am glad you find this interesting!

VineCaper- I think Allen tends to be way too girly in some stories as well. I am trying my best to keep him mostly in character, so I am really happy that you think I am doing a good job. Thanks!

wishingbell- I am happy about the progress being made between the two of them as well. ^_^

- Allen is super cute! *giggle*

Anonymous- I am glad you like it!

SparklyGlitter- ^_^ I am happy you are enjoying the story.

moshimellow- I busted out laughing when I read "Kanda, you jerkface!" I dunno why, but that really seems to fit him. LOL.

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- Hehe. Well, I just chalk it up to him being a magical being. That should allow him to survive, even in icky water. ^_^ (LOL, writer fail.)

Meyumi- Hehe! I hope you like this chapter too!

zeo1fan- Wow! First off, let me say thank you for giving such a wonderful review! As an author, I totally live for stuff like this. Anyway. As for 'The Good', as you put it, thanks a lot. I try and pay attention to details like that, because that is what I enjoy in a story as well. And 'The Bad'-Yeah, it was a bit arrogant of them to do that, but humans in general are arrogant. They think they are gods until they wind up learning the hard way. And don't worry, there will be more story before all is said and done! Answers to Your Questions In Order: Yes, Yes, I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but if you are asking if they have killed to make babies then no, Perhaps (depends on how the story goes from here), Probably. I hope that clears things up for you. ^_^; Thanks again for such a lovely review!

blodiedangle- I am happy you like my style! That means a lot to me!

VersarFfion- I have lots of things planned for Allen. *mwahahaha*

nightingale mistress- I wanted to add in a bit of humor with the mini explosion. *giggle* And yeah, I would be pissed if somebody dumped me in nasty water for a week.

KingRabbit- Lavi soaking wet is a rather yummy thought, isn't it?

BehindTheSky- Allen can understand humans as long as he uses his magic. And I am glad I have you hooked on a mermaid story! I happen to love them as long as they are well written.

fan-fan31- Mermaids and merman are always fun! And I really wanted to keep it original, and not a rip off of The Little Mermaid, like most tend to be.


	8. Chapter 8: Allen

Since I started this story, I have been looking up a lot of pictures of sea dwellers...mermaidses are teh pretties...

Also, I want to thank you guys for all the lovely reviews. And so many of them! Over 100 already!The rate of reviews to readers are much better in this story than my other one. Perhaps DGM fans are just more grateful, since the majority of DGM fanfiction is unfortunately kinda crappy.

Anyhoo. Back to Allen's POV. This chapter sort of serves as a transition, to get everyone on a level playing field, information wise. Sort of establishing the new thing between Allen and Lavi, I guess.

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><p>Allen yawned as he stretched (as much as he could in the small space, anyway), still a little groggy after just waking up.<p>

He'd slept surprisingly well last night, and for once, he felt well rested.

He thought back to the previous day and frowned slightly.

Normally, he dreamed of home all night, thought about the open ocean with every spare thought he had, ached in a way he hadn't dreamed possible for crystalline waters. The land dwellers thought that the ocean was a dead thing, a simple container for fish, but the merfolk knew better. The ocean was a living, breathing entity, the body of Neptune, real and wonderful and _alive_. Magic and water went hand in hand, and the sea positively thrummed with energy. Allen hadn't realized it when he'd stayed in the ocean all the time, but there was always a slight buzz, a pleasant hum of magic in his ears underwater. Up here, it was very quiet. Even the water that had recently been put in his tank was lifeless, cut from it's mother's womb too soon. The merman had almost wept at the thought of things being this way for the rest of his life.

Last night was a bit different though. Yes, he'd longed for his home nearly every waking moment, but a small light had sliced into the darkness of his mind, giving him something else to contemplate.

Lavi. What did he truly want?

The human hadn't responded at all when Allen had tried to communicate with him initially, being about as friendly as a rock. And all of a sudden, he wanted to be friends? Allen desperately hoped it was true, hoped he could somehow charm the human into setting him free, but he doubted it. Over the course of his life, he'd learned not to trust every opportunity that life dished out right away. And the sudden change in demeanor alerted Allen to the fact that there was another motive behind the redhead's actions, probably to get information out of his captive.

Of course, thinking about the human led Allen to think about the _touch _they'd shared. When their hands had met, it'd felt as though he was breaking the surface of the ocean to greet the sunshine. It had been so pleasant, so warm, that Allen hadn't minded the prolonged contact. From the look on his face, Allen guessed that Lavi had felt the magical surge too. The white haired youth wondered what made that time different from when Lavi had held him down during the exploding tank incident.

Well, the only way to see was to play along. Allen would submit himself to acting like a naive idiot and be the human's new pretend friend in order to better his chances of getting out of here. If the humans thought that he was simply going to lie down and die without a fight, then they had another thing coming.

He waited around for a while until Lavi made his expected appearance.

The young man walked right over to the tank and had some difficulty getting it open because he was carrying something. Finally, he got the lid unfastened and Allen helped him push it off from the inside.

The merman sat up and stretched his arms high above his head while arching his back, grateful for the chance to work the kinks out of his muscles.

He went through the process of using his magic to help him understand and speak the human's language, the ritual having become somewhat second nature now.

He cocked his head and smiled.

_'Well. Let the games begin.'_

"Good morning, Allen!" Lavi greeted him exuberantly, with a wide grin, but it seemed like there was a slight shadow lurking in his one visible eye.

_'You are a good actor, Lavi. But I'm better.'_

"Morning." Allen put on a small smile, knowing that it would seem somewhat hesitant, but still happy, and most importantly, _believable_.

"I got something for you." Lavi lifted up whatever it was that he was carrying and set it on the edge of the tank. He lifted the piece of cloth that rested atop it to reveal a basket filled to the brim with seaweed.

"I thought I would bring you your food a little early, so you won't have to deal with Kanda today. I brought enough for you to munch on all day if you want. I hope you don't mind me staying with you a bit longer than usual?"

"Of course not. Thanks." Allen reached for the basket, aiming to put his fingers where Lavi's were, so they would 'accidentally' touch. But, Lavi quickly and subtly pulled his hand back in the guise of pushing the basket toward the merman.

_'Oh ho. So, you do not want to see if we can repeat what happened yesterday? Interesting. I guess humans really are unused to magic.'_

Allen shrugged it off and grabbed his food. He contemplated it for a moment, then set the basket on the strip of water in front of him, pleased to find that it floated.

Lavi smiled again. "Here, let me drag over a chair." He did so and sat down. "So, how did you sleep?"

Allen responded without looking up as he began to inspect the seaweed, trying to pick out which strips would be the tastiest. "Oh, very well."

"Good."

The merman picked out a piece and began to nibble on it, waiting for the redhead to speak again.

"So..." Lavi trailed off awkwardly, obviously unsure of what a merman would want to talk about.

Allen mentally rolled his eyes. Why bother speaking if you don't have anything to talk about. Honestly, this would all be so much easier if the human would just ask whatever he really wanted to know, so Allen could fin-slap him silly.

"Tell me about yourself." The merman offered, hoping to alleviate the strange social tension that the human seemed to be affected by.

"Huh? Uh...not much to say really."

"Oh, come on. Surely there must be something about you that differentiates you from everyone else."

"Well, umm...I like to read?" the response sounded more like a question than anything else.

"Reed? What would you be doing with reeds?"

"No, no, not the plant. Read. Like...written words."

Allen just blinked.

"Here," Lavi reached into a fold in his clothes and produced something to show the merman.

Allen looked at the piece of paper with all the strange symbols on it and understood. He knew that he could probably use magic to decipher it, but he didn't care enough to.

"Oh, I see. Glyph Sighting. Okay. Is that common among your people?"

"Among the aristocracy and scholars, it is. Lots of commoners can't read though." Lavi said as he tucked the paper back into his pocket.

"Huh. And here I was always told that Glyph Sighting was a complex and sacred art...oh well." Allen just shrugged and went back to eating.

"So, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Tell me something that you enjoy doing."

"Hmm...I like turtles."

The human got a funny look on his face. "Turtles?"

"Yes. They make for very interesting conversationalists, assuming you can speak slowly enough and not fall asleep."

"Wait. You _talk _to turtles?" Lavi asked incredulously.

"Uh huh." Allen nodded.

"How?"

"The same way I talk to all the other sea creatures. The same way I am able to speak with you."

"And that is...?"

"Magic, of course." Allen stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else would one go about it?"

"I...I don't know."

The two spoke like this for several hours, asking each other questions and receiving answers that somehow didn't quite reveal what the asker had been hunting for. They verbally danced around each other, motives and truths held just out of reach without a single lie being uttered. They flung harmless, inconsequential tidbits of information at each other, leading the other off the original intended path.

Allen had to admit, trying to crack the human while maintaining his charade of innocence was difficult and kind of fun. He'd learned a lot of general facts about human society, marveling at how organized these barbarians really were.

Eventually, Lavi took out his time piece (Allen remembered that he'd called it a pocket watch) and announced that it was time for him to go eat dinner.

"See you tomorrow, Allen. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Lavi." Allen responded quietly.

The man smiled and got up to leave.

Allen watched him go with a strange longing in his heart. He didn't trust this human at all, but his company was a lovely distraction from the lonesome home sickness that the merman was suffering from.

Deep in his heart, he sincerely hoped that he wouldn't have to kill Lavi.

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

Aritsu Yojichi- Why thank you. Be sure to contact me whenever you are free. And thanks for such high praise!

nightingale mistress- I think that Lavi's reaction after being with Kanda was funny too. Silly humans. *giggle*

vinecaper- I am so happy that you think I am doing a good job.

BehindTheSky- I love your reviews!

scrletfyre- Hot, steamy love triangles are always fun, huh?

Starisia the Shadow Demon- I am so happy you like it! I really do try to keep things original, because boring stories suck.

Forgottenpassword- Fry from Futurama as Lavi. Epic. (Did I get the super awesome points?)

LiquidConfidence- I'm pretty bad about updating regularly, but I will do my best! Thanks for your kind words.

KingRabbit- Or did he? Hehe. Kanda does have the hots for Allen and he wants to make fish babies with red hair and eye patches. He just doesn't know it yet.

fan-fan31- Yes, why the hell not? That is what I said to myself when I started this fic. ^_^

TotalAmuto- Allen is smexy...all the better to lure in hot guys with, my dear.

sweetkakes35- I am soooo happy that you are enjoying this!

xxxwallflowerxxx- ^_^ Thanks for your review!

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- You know, I've never gotten a review that talks about magic, shrimp, and pokemon all at once. So, I had a blast reading this one. LOL.

Jasper-Jazz- Yay! I am glad you like it!

Kuu- Hehe, thanks. Mermiads+DGM=Awesome

Kayday- Wow, thanks for your reviews! I really do try to keep the story interesting, so I hope you enjoy it from now on as well!


	9. Chapter 9: Lavi

Back to Lavi's POV again. I had fun writing the last Lavi chapter, and I feel as though I should focus on the catalyst of the story a bit. (And I will write from the view of a minor character t0o!) I just wanted to give some insight into Allen's not-so-innocent ways last chapter. Dramatic Irony Plot Device is Useful. DIPDU. That sounds like a Pokemon...yeah, I'm really tired as I write this AN. My Author's Notes tend to be long and rambling, so you can skip to the story if you really want to.

It really does make me sad that I am having to put the Yullen off and concentrate totally on the other characters for a while. But, Kanda+Merman=Fish Kabob, and Plot+ Skewered Main Character=No Story. And that= le suck. So. I am thinking about throwing in a Kanda POV sometime. Not too soon, but it will happen, I promise. *bows to Yullen fans* Please spare me! Have patience, I beg of you! *cowers in a corner* **Edit: I got a shitload of reviews in one day asking where the Yullen will come in, which provoked me to plan ahead a little. **The next chapter will be in Allen's POV, while the one after that will be in Kanda's. Not exactly _Yullen_, per se, but definitely better than nothing. That will be when Kanda and Allen really start interacting.

Ahahaha, I went through and read some DGM fanfics for research purposes, and wow, just wow. THE GRAMMAR! IT BURNS! And holy crap, there are a lot of OCshippers out there...I don't like OCs myself, but I guess I can understand. I went and read one and it was positively horrendous. Maybe those stories would get more traffic if they were written with more care. *sad* Why do tweens with no literary conscience insist on defiling my fandoms? And another thing. Please stop girl bashing. In all fandoms, there are some people that portray the original female lead as a total bitch. And a lot of times, it isn't even used as a plot device to get their desired ship together, they just do it for no reason. This makes me :( . Lenalee and Kairi and Winry are awesome characters in their original formats, and I getting pretty sick of yaoi fangirls demonizing them simply due to pent up aggression at their favorite pairing not being cannon. Stop that. Just fucking stop that. Ugh. (PS to Allen-turned-girly-just-because-he-is-uke people: You need to stop that shit too.)

Anyway. On with the show.

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><p>One week.<p>

It had been exactly one week since he had been charged with befriending the merman and getting information out of him.

Lavi had learned many things in that time, random interesting facts about merfolk and the sea in general. But, so far, he hadn't been able to extract any information pertaining to what he really wanted to know.

The red haired man found that he rather liked the merman's personality though. He had a sharp wit, a good sense of humor, he was extraordinarily smart, and shifted between hot and cold quite smoothly.

Lavi knew that he hadn't fully gained his trust though. Any time he even thought about bringing up magic, Allen would pull a verbal bait-and-switch move that left his human counterpart dizzy.

Allen had also proved to be a highly inquisitive, very quick learner. He asked questions about humans and their society that Lavi wouldn't have thought of himself. Fortunately, Lavi was also adept at playing the information game, and anytime the questions got personal, the red head would dance around them and toss Allen some intriguing tidbit that would divert his attention for a while.

It was all very interesting, this constant to and fro, the battle for a vague upper hand that neither of them could seem to gain. Lavi had to admit, as hard as this was proving to be, he was having fun.

This mostly made up for Kanda taking his constant paranoid irritation out on Lavi's rear end.

Damn, his back really freaking hurt.

The man sighed and questioned his sanity for what seemed to be the millionth time as he once again opened the door to Allen's room, basket of seaweed in hand as usual.

He got the tank open, and the merman emerged from his watery prison, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey Allen. What are you smiling about?"

"The blonde man came in and changed the water again last night. I like it when it's fresher."

Allen flipped around some, somehow rearranging himself so that his tail fins flopped over the far side of the tank, and he folded his arms on the edge nearest Lavi and rested his head on them.

"I see." Lavi went ahead and put the basket on the water and sat down, having given up on formalities a few days ago. The merman didn't understand them anyway.

"So. What shall we talk about today?" The white haired one asked, a twinkle in his eye.

Lavi smirked. Somewhere along the way, they'd both come to realize that they were using each other, and they both knew that the other had ulterior motives. Allen wanted to find out more about his captors and how to get out of here, and Lavi wanted to find out more about magic and how humans could utilize it. They were both well aware of the fact that this was not a friendship as it had been originally intended, but neither really cared. Lavi was having a good time on this godforsaken boat now that Allen was around, and he was positive that Allen appreciated his company too. So, they continued to dance in this false waltz, if only for some enjoyment.

"Hmm. Well, I was discussing you with some of my colleagues, since they can't seem to muster up the courage to just come ask you questions themselves-"

"Does that make them cowardly, or does it make you particularly dull?"

"Oh, hush." Lavi rolled his eyes with a smile. "Anyhow. They asked some good questions, and I got curious."

Lavi thought back to Bak's heated discussion with the other Science Division nerds on board. All they seemed to be interested in was anatomy and composition. He was glad that Bookman at least understood the value of Allen's mind. However, the science team had brought up some good points.

"Curious about what?"

Lavi closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat a bit as he continued to speak. "Well, they can't seem to figure out how merpeople reproduce. Do you engage in sexual reproduction, or do you lay and fertilize eggs externally?"

There was a very pregnant pause.

Lavi opened his eyes and looked at the merman. His face had gone white as a sheet and his eyes had widened slightly. The normally calm, somewhat somber irises now had a sickly, horrified shadow dwelling within them.

"Allen?"

"U-uhm..." It seemed to take the merman a moment to gather his wits about him.

Lavi stopped and stared. Was it possible that he'd actually tripped Allen up?

"Allen? Are you alright?" the redhead tried again.

Allen seemed to shake himself a bit, and then nodded. "Yes. I'm fine."

Lavi squinted at him suspiciously. He thought for a moment, and figured that he might as well press the advantage while he still had it.

"Alright. So, are you going to answer my question?"

Allen pursed his lips and glared at the human for a moment before turning his head and looking away.

"No." he said curtly.

"What? Come on."

"I've never mated before, I don't know how it works." Allen mumbled.

"That's a lie and we both know it."

"It's not a lie...I've never mated before."

"But you _do _know how it works, I'm positive of that."

The merman clenched his fists and set his jaw, looking very much as though he was struggling with something. The troubled darkness in his eyes grew and expanded, threatening to engulf all the light around it.

Lavi got the strangest impulse to bat at the shadow just to make it go away. Without even thinking about it, he raised his hand to do so, hoping to rid the world of that horrible _thing_ that was tainting such beautiful eyes. Allen caught the movement, glanced over while not quite looking Lavi in the eyes.

Lavi froze, held in place by his gaze. The human blinked several times to clear his head.

_'What are you doing, dumbass? So far, you have completely avoided bodily contact! Don't touch him.'_

The hand that still hung uselessly in the air twitched while Lavi wrestled with his own conscience.

Suddenly, Allen looked down again, and Lavi was freed from whatever spell he'd been put under. However, even though his brain kept telling his arm to draw back, the appendage seemed to have a mind of its own. His hand reached out without him telling it to, and touched the merman's cheek.

The red head distantly heard two people gasp, registering somewhere in his mind that one of those people had probably been him. But he was far too occupied with the sensations washing over him to really care about such trivial things.

Once again, there was a slight jolt, followed by a rush of coolness that felt more refreshing and fantastic than anything he'd ever felt before. The pain he'd been feeling in his back faded away, and all his worries suddenly seemed very insignificant. He idly wondered why this feeling was so much more powerful than last time. Lavi thought that it was sort of strange that the whole world had gone dark all of a sudden, then realized that he'd closed his eyes somewhere along the way.

Slowly, he opened them, marveling at what he saw.

Allen's eyelids were at half-mast, his face wearing a world weary, but pretty content expression. The impressive part was that the merman was actually leaning into Lavi's hand.

The merman raised his eyes to his counterpart's, and Lavi found himself thinking that it was very unfair for anyone to have white lashes that long to frame such pretty eyes. The horrid shadow thing had subdued somewhat, relegating itself to the edges of Allen's eyes.

Somewhere inside him, Lavi's inner voice of sanity was screaming at him that he was being an idiot, he was letting his guard down, _he was fucking up_. He knew that was probably true, but at the moment, he just couldn't seem to care, so he told the voice to take a hike.

Neither Merman nor human moved for several moments until Allen sighed. The shadowy ink staining slate orbs seemed to shift restlessly, as if responding to whatever it was that Allen was thinking about. Concern joined the wonderful feelings that the touch was giving him. Lavi opened his mouth to ask about it, but Allen beat him to it.

"I..." He heaved a single shaky breath. "I came here to kill you."

Lavi jerked back, his hand leaving Allen's face, feeling very much as if someone had just slapped him awake.

"Wait, wait, let me explain." Two white eyebrows drew together over pleading eyes, the desperate look stopping Lavi in his tracks.

"I was sent here..." The merman's voice was barely above a whisper, so quiet that Lavi had to lean forward a bit to hear clearly. "They always told me that humans were bad. They said that you deserved to die. They said your sacrifice was worth it. But...that day that I attacked you, I just couldn't...I couldn't do it. You didn't seem any different than us."

Lavi's chest tightened at the merman's tone of voice as he continued to speak. "I don't know what to do. I've been charged with taking your life, but my magic doesn't react adversely to you at all. If you were really a terrible creature, it would've hurt when you touched me."

"That...that was magic?" Lavi stuttered, glancing at his still tingling hand.

"Yes."

"You came here to kill me?"

Allen hung his head and mumbled another affirmative.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I don't really know...I didn't quite believe it a week ago, but...my magic has never lied to me. You aren't the monster that my people make you out to be. I was reluctant enough before, but...I don't think I _can _kill you now."

"Well, that's comforting...why in the world would the merfolk force you to...kill humans?"

Allen turned his head away slightly and Lavi could see that he was starting to clam up.

"Allen, come on. You've already told me this much, you may as well tell me everything."

The shadow in his eyes swam about, swirling in time with the merman's thoughts.

"I wasn't commanded to kill humans. Actually, we are usually told to avoid the surface...I was told to kill _you_."

"Me?"

"Well, you and Kanda."

"Why?"

"That's how new merfolk are born. We take your lives and use your souls to form a child."

Lavi swallowed. "That's horrible."

Allen shook his head. "Long ago, the humans mated willingly with us. It was considered an honorable way to go. But then, they betrayed us, hunting us to the brink of extinction and driving us to the depths of the ocean. That's what's really horrible. That's why we are forced to attack humans now."

"So...you came here intending to kill me in order to...create a kid?"

"I...didn't want to. I've never wanted to take a life, but I was forced to come. I know that making a merchild would be for the good of all my family and would help with the continuation of my race...but I just can't kill. I can't. Especially not now. My magic _likes _you. It doesn't even react that way for my own kind." Allen covered his face with his hands.

"And now I've been captured." His voice came out slightly muffled. "And I can't hurt my captors, or get away, or give my people children. What am I going to do?"

Lavi felt like the world was spinning out from under him. He prided himself on being able to take in information, break it down, and figure out what to do with it. But, for some reason, none of this would compute. Part of him realized that he had Allen right where he wanted him-upset, off balance, willing to talk. Part of him was shocked at this new information and questions whirred throughout his mind-how do they mate, why did humans initially agree with the act, why did humans change their mind, what is the cultural significance, _why did they choose Kanda and me_? Yet another part of him was going over plans for what he would tell his comrades and how they should handle the new information-explain their mating habits, devise a way to prepare sailors, perhaps find a way to turn this magic that they use into a useable resource.

But Lavi was surprised at which part spoke the loudest-the part that said he absolutely did not want Allen to get hurt.

Distantly, he wondered if the merman had charmed him into submission, and found that he didn't really believe that and didn't really care even if it was true.

"Let's get you out of here." Lavi said, standing up.

"Huh?" The merman's head snapped up from its perch on his hands and he looked at Lavi with wide, confused eyes.

"You said that you didn't want to kill anyone?"

Slowly, Allen nodded.

"Well, the people on here want to kill you. And the time they've given me to get information out of you is already half over. We need to get you off the ship before we reach land, or you will never be able to get away."

"But...why? I tried to hurt you and...I haven't given you any answers."

"Why? Well, that's what friends are for, that's why. We are friends, right?"

A smile grew on his face, bright and beautiful, like dawn breaking over the horizon. For a second, the human had the crazy thought of shielding his eyes from its brilliance.

"_Yes_."

* * *

><p>Oliver Ditson was tired. And bored. So very, very bored. Life on the open ocean was so utterly monotonous. He'd thought that this bit of sailing would be interesting-especially when he learned that the crew had caught a mermaid. But he hadn't even seen the damn thing yet. He was beginning to think that they'd pulled the wool over his weary eyes.<p>

He wiggled a bit in his place between some crates. He was supposed to be tending to the rigging, but it was so calm tonight that nothing was shifting, so he ignored it. No sense in fixing what ain't broke, right?

He reached down for a good scratch and sighed in contentment. Nice night, no higher ups barking orders, no worries. The only things that could make this any better would be a bottle of wine and a pretty wench. He closed his eyes and drifted through the waves of boredom-induced fantasies featuring barmaids and feasts.

Just as he was starting to drift off, a sound startled Ol' Ollie from his drowsy spell.

Why, it was his cabin-mate, James, grinning from ear to ear.

"Up with you, lad. They're a lettin' us mangy dogs see the beastie."

Ollie blinked a couple times, his brain taking a moment to catch up with what his friend had said. Finally, he smiled and stood, following James below deck.

They wove their way into the belly of the massive ship, eventually coming to the door of one of the private rooms.

James opened the door and Ollie followed him in, to find himself among a few other members of the ship's crew, including Bookman Jr.

Ollie wrinkled his nose a bit. Junior seemed like a decent enough fellow, but there was something a little...off about him. Then again, there was something a little off about most of the bookish types.

"Alright, Gentlemen." Junior began, "I have work for you. I've assembled some of the finest crew members on board because I believe I can trust you with the delicate task with which we've been assigned."

Ollie blinked. He heard the word 'work' which he wasn't too fond of, but he also heard 'finest crew' which made him swell with pride, so he straightened a little and waited for the man with the eye patch to quit rambling and get right down to it.

"As you may know, we have a...special guest on board. The merfolk we caught has been a point of insight for all of us, but we feel as though it can be better observed elsewhere."

"So..." James spoke up, drawing all eyes to him. "Ye want us to move the bugger? Why?"

Junior pursed his lips for a moment, as if unhappy with the question, and then his usual smile was back in place. "The science team and I have come to question the nature of its scales. We wish to observe it under the natural light of the moon to judge the fluorescent properties of its tail."

Ollie cocked his head, unable to follow all those fancy words. He glanced at the other shipmates and saw that they seemed to be just as confused as he was, so he shrugged it off.

Another man spoke. "Are we to move it to the deck, then?"

"Oh, no, no. No need to go through all that trouble. We just need to move the tank to the stateroom-has a big window, you know the one."

Ollie nodded in understanding, even though he wasn't being directly addressed.

"I must warn you though: this task is to be preformed in silence. The beast is easily agitated by noise, and while it can't escape by itself, it can bewitch and injure a man through the glass. Best not to tempt fate."

Again, Ollie nodded, not questioning the logic. Better to keep quiet and keep his head than the other way around.

Junior grinned and gestured for the group to follow him, and they did, each man keeping quiet in case the sea creature could somehow hear them coming.

The red headed man stopped at a door with a few too many locks on it and fiddled with them for a second, opening them all faster than Ollie would have believed possible. He opened the door and held it open for the crew. Ollie thought that was quite nice of him.

They filed quietly into the room. Upon seeing the being in the tank, a look of disappointment crossed Ollie's face. It was pretty and had fins, to be sure, but it was clearly male. And here he'd hoped to catch a glimpse of a sea beauty, but all he got to see was a fish man. Oh well. He internally shrugged. He supposed that this was still a rare enough occurrence that he could go home and brag to his family about it later.

The group moved around the tank. It was latched to the floor through a series of hooks to keep it from moving around as the ship tossed. Bookman Jr. came and undid all the latches, motioning for the men to pick up the tank. They shuffled a bit, each taking a different position alongside the glass box. Ollie was unlucky-he seemed to have lost the silent lottery, because he got stuck with the spot right by the thing's head. It looked at him with strange grey eyes and Ollie grimaced a bit, then remembered that he didn't want to anger it. So, he turned his head away, and bent down to pick up the tank with his comrades.

They grunted a bit as they picked it up. Turned out that a glass box filled with water was fairly heavy. Who knew?

Each man hoisted the tank onto their shoulders uncomfortably, hoping that they hadn't disturbed the sea-devil too much. When nothing seemed to happen, Junior nodded and opened the door, which was fortunately made large enough for people to haul crates though, so they got out just fine. There was a bit of rearranging to be done in the hall as they rounded a corner to head to the stateroom. They didn't see anyone on their way, which wasn't too unusual. The science people were always off somewhere discussing something, and the rest of the crew was probably eating dinner right about now. No one wanted to waste their time on this end of the ship when there was work to be done elsewhere.

Once again, Junior opened the door and motioned for Ollie and the others to put the tank on the floor near the rather large picture window.

The redhead cocked his head in contemplation for a bit and then nodded. He shooed everyone to one side of the tank as he fiddled with something. Ollie shifted restlessly. He wanted to go eat and boast to his friends that he was chosen for this venture. Now that he'd seen the merman, he really had no interest in staying around it, but he knew that one could get in trouble if they left before they were dismissed.

Junior stood, looking quite satisfied with himself. Before anyone could react, he pushed the lid off the box, and the beast rose from the water.

"Thank you, Gents." Bookman Junior chirped.

Then there was a bright flash of light, followed by a comforting darkness.

* * *

><p>Lavi tentatively opened his eyes in the wake of the blinding light to find that all the men he'd coerced in here had slumped to the floor and were pleasantly snoring away.<p>

"How long until they wake up?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Not long. When they do, they will remember none of this. You need to get out of here, so no one will suspect you." Allen replied.

Lavi nodded and looked at the merman. Allen had bags under his eyes and was breathing rather hard.

"Are you alright?" The redhead was slightly concerned.

"I'm...I'm fine. Just...using that much magic really taxed me. Messing with people's minds isn't easy. I'm glad you thought to get the weak minded people on this ship for this."

Lavi chuckled, then moved to unlatch and open the window. From behind him, he heard a soft sigh.

"I can't believe that I am finally going home."

"Uh huh." Lavi found that he was having trouble working around the lump in his throat.

Once the window had been thrown wide and the light ocean wind had teasingly run its hand through his hair, Lavi turned around and walked toward the tank. He simply looked at the merman for a moment, then bent down and awkwardly picked him up, ignoring the indignant squawk, and noting that merfolk were surprisingly heavy.

"Ready to get thrown out a window?" He joked, hoping that he had just imagined his voice cracking.

Lavi brought him to what would serve as an exit for the merman, and took a deep breath, holding onto the wonderful feeling of cool bliss that ran through him as he held the merman, knowing that this was probably the last time he'd ever feel such a thing.

He looked into Allen's eyes one last time and saw, with a sort of grim satisfaction, that the shadow in them was writhing in it's death throes, unable to keep a hold on the merman now that he was finally free.

"Lavi...I can never thank you enough for this."

"No need to thank me. Friends, remember?"

Allen smiled, and it was the sad smile that always comes with the parting of two hearts that are attached to each other. Lavi opened his mouth to say his final goodbye, but the words just wouldn't come. Allen laughed, the sound a magical chime that Lavi was sure he'd never forget, and stretched up in the human's arms, bringing his lips to Lavi's ear.

"_Thank you, Lavi. This is an act the sea will never forget._"

With that, Allen briefly pressed his lips to Lavi's cheek, a quick kiss that tingled in ways that the human had never experienced before. Then, the merman shoved off his chest slightly, launching himself backwards, out the window.

Lavi leaned out over the windowsill, intent on waving goodbye and making sure that Allen got away safely, but the only things he saw when he looked out unto the ocean were a small splash and a quick flicker of silver. Then, all was calm.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

Forgottenpassword- Yay for awesome points! I was so, so tempted to say 'I lyke turtlez' all throughout writing that chapter. XD

shely12- I am soo happy you like my story!

Kayday- *giggle* Well, if it makes you feel any better, the over all story will be pretty long. I just have too short of an attention span to write long chapters. This one is about as long as I get. ^_^

Jasper-Jazz- I can't wait for that either. I am seriously considering making a Kanda POV chapter within the next couple of installments so he can get some action. ^_~

LizluvsSpongebob- Yay, thanks for picking up this story. I really do try to make my uke's not too girly, because that drives me batshit when I am reading other stories.

vinecaper- Here you go!

sweetkakes35- I am a little too impatient to write really long chapters, but I do tend to update often-ish...most of the time, at least. I can't wait to bring Kanda into it either. *drools*

TotalAmuto-Yes, poor Allen. Although, I feel more sorry for Lavi and Ollie this chapter. ^_^

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- Random, random. ^_^ I am happy you like the story so far tho.

Felnore- Kanda is an ass, be he's a hot one, so that is forgivable. Thank you so much for your review!

King Rabbit- I am so happy that you feel I keep them in character...that is something I try really hard to do. ^_^

scrletfyre- I can't wait for the steamy scenes either. Yummy.

JayPay- Allen plotting is so cute, ne?

RBO- I would really like it if you would volunteer your services! If you are still interested, PM me so we can exchange info and such. *huggles*

Pawliine- I am so glad you like it!

fan-fan31- I've never thought Allen to be helpless or dumb, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't portray him that way...bit of a switcharoo in this chapter, eh?

Kuurazill- Are there really two people on the other side of your screen? *giggle* Your review was cute. I am happy that Kuu-tan and Razill-chan like my story! *runs away*


	10. Chapter 10: Allen

I really shouldn't be writing this right now...I should be typing up the next chapter for LTIS. But the mermaids seem to have taken hold of my brain. Or perhaps I am getting just as impatient as my readers with the 'I wanna see Kanda' thing. Because I do miss him. I luffs Kanda. BTW, I dunno if I have advertised any of my other stories yet, but I will now. If any of you guys like Naruto or FMA, go read my other stuff. A couple of my off shoots are in serious need of reviews, and LTIS is a lot of fun. ^_^

The relationship progression of this story is really strange if you take it out of context. The first pairing in the story is actually KandaxLavi, then it shifts to Laven, AllenxLenalee (OMG, a Hetero Pairing) has wedged itself into this chapter, we will jump into the Yullen next chapter and eventually we will find ourselves with various forms of KandaxLavixAllen. So weird...also, I am now completely positive that the online translator I found is not 'real' elvish, but it sounds super cool, so I am going to continue using it for Allen's language.

We reached a pretty big mile stone last chapter, but this chapter is going to be the turning point of the story...*sigh* The Little Mermaid aspects will prevail over this chapter a bit, but I promise there will be no fat sea witches or talking crabs. Turtles pwn crabs anyway. If I ever put a turtle character in here, I am going to name it Turquoise, like on Blues Clues. Yeah. I'm cool. Mehhh...to be honest with you guys, if I had to choose a single DGM pairing, I'd probably pick Yullen over Laven. But Laven is so much more accessible. Of course, that's assuming you do not change the personalities of the characters. If you turn Allen into the girly, shy, ditz that ukes so often become in fanfics, then I guess Yullen is just as easy to write as anything else. But, in the words of Galagza, Allen is too much of a BAMF for that. Anyhow, we are going to set up Allen for his wonderful return to the surface world in this chapter, and the next will be the Kanda POV chapter. I am a little nervous about that one...I've never written from the perspective of a Kanda-ish character before. I hope I can pull it off. *crosses fingers*

Murder plots are fun to write. *smiles* And the big spell at the end is a bit technical, so don't be afraid to ask me questions, and be sure to tell me if something is unclear, okay?

* * *

><p>Allen swam as fast as he could, not out of fear, but out of the sheer joy that was coursing through him.<p>

The sea! He was back in the sea after so long!

He did a flip underwater and twisted every possible way he could, to make up for all the time that he couldn't move freely. He took in a big breath of water through his gills and savored the flavor of true ocean. Then, he released the breath, laughing at the air bubbles. He was giddy, an addict coming back to his obsession after far too long.

The loving mother that was the ocean embraced him, celebrated his return, soothed his ragged nerves with cool waters. She whispered encouragement to him, told him how happy she was to have him back within her reach. Allen shouted his ecstasy with all that he had and laughed until his sides began to hurt. The few fish that swam about the open ocean at night looked on his exuberance strangely, but he simply smiled at them in return and wished them well.

Through the near orgasmic happiness, the pragmatic voice in the back of his head reminded him that he still had a dilemma on his hands: He had no child.

This dampened his high spirits a bit. He needed to get back to his family and friends-he wanted to see them so much! But would they be upset that he had not succeeded? Would his master be able to guess that he was unable to kill a human? Did they think he was dead?

Allen shook his head, white hair flowing through the water.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

><p>Allen hesitated near the edge of the merfolk's territory. As soon as he passed the magical boundary that marked their waters, everyone would know that he was back.<p>

The vessel he'd been on had taken him quite far from his home, and it had taken him four days to swim back at top speed. This had given him time to think, but he still didn't have any answers. Only questions. These questions swam about in his head like sharks circling in the water.

_'Will they be happy to see me? Will they be disappointed? I wonder if this has ever happened before.'_

Allen took a deep calming breath of pure ocean water. The waters down here were much cleaner, being virtually untouched by the nonsense that humans dumped into the sea. It really helped clear his head.

Slowly, he started forward, making his way into familiar surroundings. He saw the slight shimmer in the water that marked the line around his home, around Deepsea. He pushed through the curtain of magic, shivering a bit as the powerful spell brushed against his skin.

And just as he had predicted, it wasn't five minutes before he was assailed by quite the crowd, mermen and mermaids all coming upon him in a big group. They bombarded him with too many questions for him to keep track of, all of them seeming happy to see him, putting their hands on his shoulders, or giving him quick hugs. But it was only when a dark haired mermaid with a green tail and a glowing smile pushed her way to the front of the throng and embraced him, that Allen finally broke down and hugged back.

_Finally, he was home._

* * *

><p>"Oh Allen, I'm so happy you are home!" The girl cried for the millionth time.<p>

"I'm happy to be back, Lenalee." He snuggled close to her, needing the bodily contact to reassure himself that this wasn't a dream. He thought back to his time on the ship and realized that he'd never really seen anyone touch each other, aside from the brief contact he'd shared with Lavi. Allen wondered why the humans had to be so awkward about everything. He was glad that merfolk didn't feel the need to avoid displays of affection.

They reclined on one of the many large rocks that adorned the grounds outside the coral palace. Allen stretched a bit and thought that there was no place on Earth more comfortable than this.

Allen felt a hand brush against his back and looked over his shoulder. Little Timothy floated there, looking very much like he was about to cry.

"I-It's good to have you b-back, Allen."

The white haired merman smiled at the boy, then pulled him in for a hug. Lenalee giggled and hugged them both, pulling Timothy in between herself and Allen, where he laughed and proceeded to nuzzle into the older merman's chest.

"It is indeed good to see my apprentice again."

Allen stiffened and looked toward the newcomer, bracing himself for the worst.

Marian Cross looked just as he always had to the casual onlooker. His fiery red mane flowed around him like a devil's aura. The mask covering the right half of his face seemed to shroud him in mystery. The powerful fins he possessed shimmered iridescently. (There was much debate as to what color his scales actually were-red that shone gold in the right kind of light, or the other way around.) All in all, he looked downright spooky.

But Allen knew better. This was the merman that had raised him after Mana had died, and the white haired youth understood some of the more subtle nuances of his character that most would gloss over. There was a slight shadowy smudge under his one visible eye, an upset tilt in his usual frown. His fins twitched nervously, little bubbles following tentatively in their wake. Allen could see that his mentor was under duress, he just didn't quite know why.

The two mermen stared at each other for a long moment, not moving or speaking.

Surprisingly, it was the eldest who broke the silence.

"Ahem. Now that we have that out of the way, we can get down to business." Cross swam closer to the small group and Allen shivered slightly, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach.

"Tell, me..." The red haired merman began, before suddenly turning toward Lenalee. "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I know a very nice, _private_, kelp bed."

_'I knew it.' _Allen rolled his eyes and shook his head at his predictable master.

From out of nowhere there came an unearthly screech and Komui shot out of the palace and swam in front of his sister.

For a few moments, chaos reigned while Komui glibbered on and on about _his precious sister_, General Cross covered his ears, and Timothy laughed hysterically. The episode ended when Lenalee got that _look _on her face and all parties present got very quiet.

The mermaid huffed and mumbled something about seagull-brained-males.

"A-Anyway..." Komui shifted uncomfortably, before latching onto a change of subject. "Allen. You still haven't told us where you've been."

Allen twitched and turned fully toward the group to find all eyes looking at him expectantly.

"Well...gosh, where to start?"

_'Yes, where to start? What should I tell them?'_

The General spoke up then. "Why don't you begin by telling us why you do not appear to have any children?"

"Yeah...well..." Allen hesitated, contemplating his reply.

_'Do not lie. You know that Master Cross will be able to tell. Tell him the truth. Just...not all of it.'_

"I was captured."

There were gasps of horror and much petting and cooing ensued until Cross managed to rein it in.

"What happened, Allen? How did you get captured? How did you escape?"

_'The key to a good half-truth is in the obscurity. Answer with as little detail as possible, while still giving them enough to satisfy them.' _Allen's mind whirred, going over the events of the last two and a half weeks in mere seconds.

Slowly, he wove together the tale of his little adventure, leaving all mentions of Lavi and his own inability to act out. He told the story of a young, unassuming merman locating his prey, but being captured in a net and losing consciousness before the child-making ritual could be completed. He used long, rambling descriptions of the atrocious humans and their foul ship, described in gruesome detail the long hours spent in that unholy _box_, the stagnant water, the minimal amount of interaction, the hopelessness. Finally, he neatly tied up the loose ends by speaking of his own cleverness, of how he at last was able to charm an unnamed sailor into setting him free.

"How horrible." Komui had gone very white at the mention of the box, and was only now starting to look better. Allen couldn't really blame him. That ungodly _prison _would be haunting his own nightmares for a very long time.

Timothy snuggled closer to the silver scaled merman and shivered, nodding in agreement with the older merman's comment.

Allen shook his head sadly, while secretly being glad that his story seemed to have convinced them. "The real tragedy is that I couldn't complete the ritual for making a child."

Throughout the whole story, Allen's mentor had stayed very quiet, and it seemed as if he was thinking very hard about something. Finally, he spoke:

"It seems as though you have been through much, though your inexperience and idiotic disposition seem to be as much to blame as anything else. Still, one failed attempt is not enough to give up. They should still be on the water. I'm sure I can locate them again."

"Ah, but..." Allen panicked. He couldn't go back, he didn't think he could stand being put in that horrid tank again, and most importantly, _he couldn't kill._

"General Cross, I don't mean to be rude, but...don't you think it's a bit soon? Allen just got home." Lenalee piped up.

The white haired merman internally cheered for his friend.

"Perhaps, but it wouldn't it be better if he got to the humans while they are still on the open ocean?" Komui asked, looking to the General for his opinion.

"I agree. We should take action while we still can. Allen will be ready for them this time."

"But Master," Allen spoke up, desperately hoping to dissuade the merman. "_They_ will also be ready for _me_. They might be horrible, but we can't ignore the fact that they were able to capture me before I was able to hurt them and keep me imprisoned for two weeks. I barely made it out with my own life. We can't expect that I would be able to make it there and back with children in tow. Not now, when they have their guard up."

"Allen's right. Going right now would just do more harm than good. Perhaps if we had more merfolk to spare for the effort, but there just aren't enough of us to merit risking so many lives." Lenalee nodded, and Allen swore that he would always, always love this mermaid more than all the others and gave thanks to Neptune for blessing her with good sense.

General Cross gave an unhappy grunt in response.

"Lenalee, once they get to the shore, they are out of our reach. We must act before land separates us. It's because there are so few of us that we _should_ risk it." Komui spoke again, looking very distraught.

This debate went on for quite a while, with Cross looking more and more disgruntled with each passing moment. Allen had begun to worry that someone would wind up getting hurt when little Timothy spoke, shattering the circular argument of the green scaled twins.

"Why don't we just follow them once they reach land?"

"We can't exist in the same space as Men. They would kill us." Komui said, an annoyed expression on his face.

"But won't they let their guard down once they are in their own territory?" The child asked.

"Yes, but...Dear, we have fins. To follow them on land, one would need legs." Lenalee patiently explained.

"Then why don't we just give Allen legs so he can go get them? If he looks like one of them, they wouldn't think to hurt him, would they?"

For a moment, all was quiet as each of them took in the simple logic of a child in wonder and turned the option over in their minds.

Finally, the male twin spoke. "But that isn't possible...is it?"

The General thought for a moment and tapped his chin. "Hmm...It might be...but such powerful magic would come with consequences..."

"Even if it is possible, don't you think that's too dangerous? The land is completely foreign territory to us." Lenalee swam back to Allen and held him close, as if she thought shoving his face in her bosom would protect him from all this craziness.

Allen pulled away slightly so he could respond. "More importantly, don't I get a say in this? I don't mean to question you Master, but this is absolutely insane."

The General nodded. "You are right. Normally, we would never take such a risk. However, yours is a special case. You have ability to mate _twice_. Lord Neptune is obviously expecting great things from you, and we cannot disappoint him."

Allen hedged, feeling quite uncomfortable with that gleam in his tutor's eyes. He knew that look, the one the red haired merman always got when he was planning something that had to do with the complex ancient magic that he loved so much. "But, Master..."

"Don't you understand, boy? Two rounds of spawn was unheard of before your mating cycle began. You've been given the chance to perform what would amount to a miracle; we can't just disregard it because the path may be difficult."

"Wait. Are we really planning on doing this?" Komui asked incredulously.

"_We _aren't planning on doing anything. _He_," Allen pointed at his mentor, quite fed up with this conversation, "is planning on turning me into a magic experiment."

"It's for the greater good, Idiot Apprentice. Buck up."

* * *

><p>"Sweet Neptune, are you serious?"<p>

"Yes, boy. Now be quiet so I can concentrate."

They had wound up waiting a week, with the General keeping track of their progress while he planned out his crazy proposed spell. Allen had tried in vain to dissuade his tutor, but so far none of his arguments had worked. Eventually, the dreaded day came when the red haired merman had announced that their ship had reached land, and that it was time. He then led his pupil and the twins to a small sea cave that was used solely for large scale spells.

Every inch of the place was covered in glyphs and glowing symbols. Allen knew that they were used to modify and expand the latent energies of the ocean, but he couldn't read any of them. The General had always been very secretive about the art of Glyph Sighting.

The eldest mermen swam around while muttering to himself and fiddling with things, finally pulling out a stone that seemed to dip in the middle from somewhere and whispering to it.

Komui looked around the cave curiously, giving all the glyphs a wide berth as he examined them. But his sister seemed to be more concerned with her best friend at the moment.

"Allen, do you think you'll be okay?" Lenalee wrung her hands nervously.

"The answer to that should be obvious." The silver scaled merman replied dryly.

"Oh ho. Confident, are we?" Cross turned around from whatever he was doing and swam toward the middle of the room.

"No. I'm just certain that this plan is doomed to fail." The young merman explained.

"Oh please. So long as you keep your wits about you, it'll work out fine." Cross mumbled absentmindedly as he dipped his fingers into the indentation in the rock. There was nothing that Allen could see in the little hole, but when his mentor pulled his fingers back out, they seemed to glow. He pressed his luminous fingertips to the floor of the cave and the three younger merfolk stared as the light seemed to spread out over the floor in all directions, swirling intricately upon itself, crisscrossing and overlapping, forming various shapes and designs before forming a huge circle around the whole thing and coming to a stop.

The hum of magic that filled the entire ocean seemed to find its focal point in the cave, and the energy flew into the new glyph on the floor, making it glow even brighter.

"You two," The General motioned to the twins, "Say goodbye and leave. I don't want anything disrupting this spell."

The two green scaled merfolk swam over to Allen and gave him a big hug.

"Good luck, Allen. We're all counting on you." Komui told him.

"Stay safe, Allen." Lenalee whispered. She pushed the white haired youth to arm's length and smiled rather sadly. "Don't look so down. I know you can do it. We all believe in you."

"Lenalee, I-" Allen began, but he was cut off by lips pressing against his own. From somewhere in front of him he heard a strangled gasp that sounded a bit like Komui, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. The kiss was...nice. Reassuring. It spoke of tender love and the promise of coming home. Allen was almost sad when it ended.

"See you later." She whispered. And with that, she grabbed her brother (who was in hysterics at this point-Allen was positive that it had nothing to do with him leaving and everything to do with 'his little Lenalee' _kissing _a merman) and dragged him out of the cave, swimming toward the Coral Palace. Allen watched them go with a strange restlessness in his heart.

"Are you ready, Stupid Apprentice?" Asked a voice from behind him.

"Master, I really don't think I can do this..."

"Nonsense. Lord Neptune assigned you with this task because you are just the merman for the job. Now, come to the center of the circle."

Allen sighed, realizing that once again he had no choice in the matter.

_'I honestly cannot believe this is happening. Neptune, why do you hate me so?' _Allen thought to himself while he did as directed.

"Alright. Listen up." General Cross put on a very business-like face. "The spell I am going to work on you is going to give you legs and take you to shore. There will be side effects."

"But, Master, I don't-"

"Shut up, boy! You must go, for the greater good. Get over it."

Allen fell silent unhappily, his mind working desperately to come up with an excuse that his Master would take as the older merman continued to talk.

"Anyway. The basics of it will work like this. You will go on land, disguised as one of them. You will find your targets and lure them into the sea, even shallow water will work. The catch is that you will not have the use of your magic for locating them or coercing them to into the water."

"What!"

"Our magic is the magic of the ocean. As merpeople, we can harness those powers anywhere. But, this spell will be suppressing your connection with the ocean in order to allow you to survive on land. So, your magic will still be there, but you will not be able to use it. However, should you come into contact with the sea, that connection will reopen and your magic will be available to you. This includes the magic that we use for bearing children. Once you have the humans in the ocean, you can go through the mating ritual."

"But I can't even speak their language. How can I be expected to get them to come to the water?"

"I will make sure that you are able to understand them, that part of the spell will not be too hard. Also-there must be conditions that will make this spell break, otherwise you will never be able to return. So, I will be tying the spell to the magic that you would use for mating. Once you have used up that magic, the spell that will make you like a human will shatter and you will return to your true form. Since you have to be in the ocean to make a child anyway, that shouldn't matter."

Allen swallowed hard, still having a hard time believing all of this. He was having difficulty keeping up, but his mentor just kept on babbling, completely ignoring his pupil's discomfort.

"Unfortunately, this puts a time limit on your mission. Since this type of magic naturally dissipates, you will only have the span of your mating cycle to do this. Obviously, this no longer includes simply making children, but also controls how long you have in a human form. If a year's time passes and you go back to your true form on land, you are as good as dead."

"A year? Master, do you really think that this is going to take a year?"

"It shouldn't, but nevertheless, that is how long you have."

"But...how am I to find the humans?" There was a distinct whine in the younger merman's voice now.

"I can send you to the coast, to the place where the sea last touched them. That should get you pretty close, since they haven't been on land for very long. After that, you are on your own."

"A-are you sure we have to do this? Why don't we just wait a while to see if they come back to the ocean later?"

The General raised his one visible eyebrow in obvious disbelief. "We can't just assume that they will come back so soon. We should act while we can."

"You are really going to make me go, aren't you?" Allen asked, growing more and more upset as it became obvious that there was no getting out of this.

"Yes. Now hush. Let's get on with it."

Allen fell silent, not because he wanted to go through with this, but because he didn't want to disrupt the spell and make something go wrong. Complex magic was delicate, and he didn't want to be the center of a spell that had gone from tame to destructive.

Cross began an incantation, but Allen didn't bother listening. He didn't know much about the bigger forms of magic, but he did know that the words that went along with it were just nonsensical syllables strung together without any real meaning to anyone except the caster. They were just to help him focus. His master's particular brand of magic-speak was strong, with many hard sounding consonants interspersed throughout short, choppy sentences.

Slowly, Allen felt the energies already gathered in the room begin to thrum in time with the General's words. He sensed the magic begin to weave together along the lines of the magic circle that he floated above, felt it surround him. The magic felt much like his master did-a bit cold at first, but it was very warm at its core. For some reason, this calmed the white haired merman down immensely.

The red haired merman's chanting began to rise in pitch and volume and the magical energies that were now situated within the circle roared along with him as they converged on Allen. The already illuminated room was filled with a white hot light that Allen had to close his eyes against.

As soon as he did, pain shot through him, causing him to yell out. He felt a cold force reach within him and grab hold of _something_. Allen couldn't put a name to it, but even in his disoriented state he knew that it was terribly precious, and that it belonged only to him. He screamed at the intruder, but he was caught in a net, unable to even struggle as whatever foreign thing within him shoved his beloved _something_ into a corner of his soul and locked it away.

The moment that _something_ was severed from him, the pain grew and grew until it was unbearable. Every molecule in him was in agony, he was burning, _he couldn't breathe_-

And then, there was a sense of being spun around, and a calming sea wind brushed over him, cradling him in its arms and carrying him with it, away from all the darkness and pain. Allen smiled in thanks, but it was a heartbroken smile, because he knew that he was leaving his _something_ behind. And that knowledge almost hurt him more than the cold had.

There was a tingling in the back of his mind, and the last thing he was aware of before he completely lost consciousness was a familiar voice in his head.

_"Good Luck, Idiot Apprentice."_

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

scrletfyre- *giggle* It was a tender moment, wasn't it? I certainly enjoyed writing it. Although I'm sure that Kanda _was _pretty pissed.

Tintaglia In Flight- 'The merman is out of the tank'...lol. I am really happy that you like my story. I am eagerly awaiting Kanda's chapter too. ^_^

Felnore- I am a sap, so I am glad that there are others out there who can appreciate those moments as well. And yeah, I am planning on the story being pretty long.

LizluvsSpongebob- Lol, don't worry about the typo. Happens to me all the time. I like re-reading my old faves too. I always like discovering new stories, but going through all the crap to get to the real gems is just painful sometimes.

Starisia the Shadow Dragon- Yeah, I felt pretty bad for making Lavi go through that horrible parting, but it will all be worth it.

Jasper-Jazz- I am super happy that he's free too!

JayPay- YOUR REVIEW SO CLEVER!

Kayday- Ahaha, I didn't notice that when I wrote it. Silly little sea devil.

Ciega Chica- I am feeling pretty good because you reviewed! Glad you liked it.

Miso Ramen-sama- I am happy you think that. I think that a well written story always makes it worth the wait, because it usually signals that the smut will be tasty. ^_^

lazycookies- Wow, thank you so much! To have one of my stories be one of your faves is such high praise! Just...wow! Thank you!

BehindTheSky- I love the Laven. But you are right, it was sad. Hopefully it will be more fun in the future.

sweetkakes35- You didn't sound impatient. I totally understand wanting to read more. And I so agree about stupid tween fanfiction. I totally support writing while you are young, but there is so much badly written, pointless smut that it makes me want to vomit.

Conrii- I am so happy you think so!

fan-fan31- I liked writing from Ollie's perspective. It was refreshing. I liked the kiss on the cheek too.

Ichigo 1010- I am glad that my ability to write a story has overcome my nonexistent skills with writing summaries. I love the MOMENTS just as much as the next person. Hehe. While I will be focusing on Yullen and Laven a lot, the KandaxLavi will play a part. I don't want this to be two different relationships, I want it to wind up being one big happy love triangle of bishie goodness. So, they will have 'encounters' in the future. *hides from reader's wrath* And yes- Allen's language is awesome, and I will include more of it as we go forward.

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- I hate both genders equally too. *high five* And Ouran rocks my socks. Major brownie points to you.

Galagza- MEME FANFIC-THE ONE FIC TO RULE THEM ALL. Yes. Kimba approves. Do it. And I did the 'pregnant pause' thing on purpose. *giggle* Allen does indeed= Major BAMFness. And yeah, Lenalee can be pretty creepy sometimes...*shiver*


	11. Chapter 11: Kanda

_R.I.P. Steve Jobs._

Well, here it is. The long awaited Kanda chapter. *sigh* I hope it goes okay. *crosses fingers* You guys are such good readers, and you seem to review more than my FMA crowd, so thanks once again for that.

Kanda is a tough one to write for...it's easy to observe him from the outside, but getting into his head and being able to write things from his perspective is a totally different deal. He can be very deep sometimes...also, angry. He's good at being angry. But people in their fanfics so often tend to make him an all knowing, untouchable enigma that some other character is pining over while forgetting that he is fundamentally a haughty idiot. For real. Even Hoshino admits it. So, I don't want to make him this Edward Cullen-ish god, I just want him to be a guy with maybe not the best past who is in severe need of anger management classes. I try pretty hard to make my writing distinct for each character...I want Lavi to sound like Lavi, Allen to sound like Allen, Kanda to sound like Kanda, and the snozberries to taste like snozberries.

Also, timeline. I don't freaking feel like describing the entirety of the world and the time period, so I did a little bit of searching. Since the Black Order is run by a religious entity and more concerned with private matters, I don't have to get real specific with politics of the day, therefore I am not going to bother. I think I said before that this story will take place around the time that Pirates Of The Caribbean does, so let me narrow that down to the turn of the 19th century, or very late 1700s to very early 1800s. That should help you imagine the things that people wear, since I am extraordinarily bad at describing that kind of thing...I normally don't bother with a description of clothes unless it is some sort of formal event where the form of dress is important. It just seems pointless to do so. So, you can look up the period styles and imagine on your own what they are wearing. Hope that helps you envision the characters a bit better. Also, I don't want to make them speak the way people would've at that time. It isn't like you guys are reading this for the historical accuracy.

**~0x0~**

Yuu Kanda was _not _pleased.

Then again, he never really was, but the past month had been particularly bad and he was just fucking sick of it.

First, he'd been forced to go on an extended stay mission with that annoying idiot Lavi and the stupid science squad. Then, he'd been stranded on the damn boat surrounded by nothing but water, water everywhere, and not a serving of soba to eat. Then that...that _thing _had showed up, tried to kill him, and the crew hadn't even let him kill it! For two weeks he'd been forced to deal with the knowledge that an unnatural freak was on board. Lavi had tried to convince him that the mermaid was essentially harmless, but he had known better.

Lo and behold, Kanda had been exactly right. That sea wretch had ensnared several of the regular crew and then made them set him free. The men had claimed they remembered nothing out of the ordinary, but the evidence was there. The tank, unlocked in a room it shouldn't have been in, the window wide open, a bunch of passed out morons on the floor, and most importantly, _no mermaid_.

Lavi had been the one to find that the sea devil was missing, since the poor bastard had been assigned to check in on it from time to time. After a bit of searching, the men who had helped it escape was been discovered, woken up and interrogated, but their recollections of that night had been very fuzzy. The clearest account had come from a man referred to as Ollie, and all he could tell them was that he'd had a dream about a dancing barmaid with flippers for arms.

They'd searched the nearby ocean of course, but it had been far too late to have any real hope of recapturing it. After a long, stressful week, they'd finally made it to port with nothing to show for all their efforts.

And now Lavi was bitching at him about 'being more gentle'. Stress relief shouldn't require that much restraint, dammit.

The long haired man huffed in annoyance and crossed his legs, cursing this small coastal Black Order outpost for not having more comfortable chairs.

For the most part, he'd been able to tune out the hushed words of the red head sitting next to him, but while the words themselves slipped by him, their intended meaning and the annoying droning sound that went along with them did not.

"Lavi, stop acting like a woman." Kanda growled, quite fed up with everything. All he wanted was a bowl of soba and room to work out, since he really hadn't been able to on the ship. But this place was a small building in a small town in fricking _Spain._ Most people around here had never even heard of Japan, they sure as hell couldn't understand the cuisine.

This sucked. He wanted to go back to the European Branch, where the cook could make real food and everyone knew to _leave him the hell alone_. But no. Life couldn't just cooperate with a man in need of a break. He was stranded here for three days before the next ship left for England.

"But Yuu..."he whined, unaware of the Japanese man's internal bitching.

"Stop calling me by my first name, retard. And if your back really hurts that much in the morning, then it is due to your lack of toning and muscle mass, rather than my lack of restraint. Perhaps if you took the time to actually train once and a while, you wouldn't have these problems."

"I do train." Lavi huffed, putting a very unconvincing pout on his face.

Kanda just raised an eyebrow at his bad acting and rolled his eyes.

After a couple seconds of still pretending to be mad, Lavi dropped the act and grinned.

"It's too bad that we won't have private cabins here or on the next ship," The idiot said, waggling his eyebrows, "But I guess we will just have to deal with it, since there isn't much room to spare. Speaking of which, where did Bak drag Old Man Panda off to?"

"They said something about setting up a further investigation into the mermaid-"

"Merman." Lavi corrected.

"Whatever. They are taking the crew members that were involved into custody for more questioning."

"Huh." The red head stretched in his seat. "Waiting around for them is boring..."

Kanda nodded in agreement. After about 15 minutes of more waiting around, he got truly tired of it and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"Hey, I'll go with you. I could stand to stretch my legs." Lavi started to get up until Kanda pushed him back down.

"Idiot. Somebody has to be here for when they return."

"But being here by myself will be even more boring!" Lavi whined.

"Just deal with it. I won't be long." Without another word, Kanda left, stepping in time with the unhappy grumbles coming from the other man as he marched out the door and closed it behind him.

The man closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He opened his eyes once again and took a look around. The small building owned by the Order was situated on the outskirts of this port town. While it was a bit small, it seemed prosperous enough. To his left the streets stretched out and bustled happily with noontime activity. Kanda briefly considered going to the town square to see with there was anything that might be passable for his food tastes, but quickly discarded the idea. He didn't want to have to deal with trying to get food from locals that wouldn't understand his language.

Instead, he turned to the right and began to slowly meander. He walked out of the town completely and down to the shore, savoring the quiet that he so rarely experienced. HQ was normally busy and loud and he didn't really get a moment's peace on missions, so he took his time and walked a bit farther than he probably should have. By the time Kanda realized that he'd been away for quite a while, the town was a about a half a mile away, still close enough to be very much within sight, but far enough that all the buildings seemed to blur together to make one big shape on the horizon. He sighed, and hesitated along the shoreline, not really wanting to go back just yet.

He looked out at the ocean. From this angle it was pretty, he supposed. It was blue and vast, with a brisk sea wind coming from off the water. The beach that he was currently on did not have golden sands, but sort of a brownish grey silt with bigger rocks grouped together in several places. Not the idealized vision of a beach, but it was still sort of nice, in its own way. People often said that the Pacific and the Atlantic had a different feel to them, but he'd seen both and couldn't tell the difference. Water was water. He narrowed his eyes at the thought.

_'Water is water, but the things in it aren't so harmless.' _

Thinking about the merman made him grimace, and he had the sudden urge to not be near the ocean anymore.

As he turned to go back to town (and once again face Lavi's whining), something peeking out from behind one of the larger groupings of rocks caught his eye.

From here, it looked white and sort of shiny, so he initially thought that it was a seashell of some sort, but it looked sort of off.

Kanda took a step closer without thinking about it, then stopped, telling himself that it really didn't matter and he really should be getting back. But something on an instinctual level told him to go investigate, and over the years he'd learned to trust his instincts.

He shifted a bit, trying to discern what was compelling him to go over there and whether or not there was something dangerous on the other side of those rocks. After thirty seconds of not being able to figure it out, the long haired man shrugged and walked over to get a closer look. About three paces away from the rocks, he finally figured out what it was that he was seeing.

Hair. Snow white hair. And when there was hair, there was a body.

The first thought he had was that someone had killed an old woman and dragged her out here for the ocean to wash away. But he knew what an old person's hair looked like. Thin, brittle, worn from all the years of being on one's head. But the little lock of hair the was showing from the other side of the stones looked full and lush, though it didn't look like it would be particularly soft.

The swordsman had only seen hair like that once before.

Slowly, he drew Mugen, the sword that was always at his hip. He was on full alert now, as he walked around to the other side of the rock formation.

It was a body all right. He was completely naked, giving no doubt as to gender. He had long white hair that obscured the majority of his face. He was sopping wet, and there was a lot of blood on the sand and in his hair that was still red, which told Kanda that he had a fresh head injury. But the man was confused. He was positive he'd seen that hair on the merman, but this guy was obviously human, only a couple years younger than himself.

Kanda wondered if he'd been the victim of some sort of hate crime, which would help explain the nudity, blood, and odd placement of his body. The dark haired man leaned toward him a bit, trying to figure out whether or not he was alive. He thought he saw some movement, a slight flutter of his eyelids, but the rise and fall of his chest was very shallow, almost imperceptible.

He knelt down, sheathing Mugen and turning the boy over so he could see him a bit better. Blood completely covered his face, making most of his features indistinguishable. The red liquid seemed to be coming from a huge, strangely shaped gash running from his forehead to nearly his jaw. It poured from the wound, seeping into his hair, streaming over his neck, and dripping off his shoulder in big fat droplets onto the ground. The blood spilled down his left arm, which was covered in tattoos.

The sight of all that blood put Kanda into the automatic state that he experienced during all emergencies. He no longer really thought about his actions, just did what he had to do in the most efficient way he could. He took off his overcoat, covering the boy with it. He then pressed his ear to a cold, pale chest and listened for a heartbeat, paying close attention to his breathing to see if there was any water in his lungs. There didn't seem to be anything obscuring his breath, but for some reason he breathing was really shallow. Kanda didn't have much medical knowledge, but he knew that going into shock could cause all sorts of strange, dangerous effects. He ripped off a strip of fabric from the bottom of his shirt pressed it against the boy's head, wrapping and tying it as best as he could. He knew that the kid needed to be moved to a place with better medical equipment, _now_.

He then picked the boy up bridal style, noting distantly that he was pretty light. Kanda ran back to the town, doing his best to not jostle the passed out form in his arms. It had taken him a while to get down here, but the Japanese man was quite swift when he wanted to be, so it was only a few minutes before he was on the doorstep of the Order outpost, yelling at them to open the damn door, and startling the few people that were walking around.

Bak opened the door, and Kanda shoved his way past them, setting the still bleeding kid on the floor.

"Treat him." Kanda commanded.

"Uh, I...w-what?" Bak stuttered, obviously taken by surprise.

The door leading to the back room open, and Lavi emerged.

"Hey, what's all the ruckus?"

"I found a boy injured on the beach," Kanda motioned toward the body on the floor, absently taking note of the wide eyed look Lavi got once he'd seen what the long haired man was talking about. "I think he's in shock. He needs medical treatment, or he'll die."

For a moment, all was still, then both the blonde and the red head burst into motion, Lavi kneeling beside the kid, shooing his friend away with strangely shaky hands and Bak calling for the Bookman and a medic. Kanda stood and backed up, knowing that he'd just get in the way at this point. He walked backward, going to lean against the wall and observe. Now that the kid was in better hands, he could think with some semblance of normalcy again.

The Japanese man was a bit surprised at his actions. He didn't think that it was out of the ordinary for him to help a random injured person; he'd done that after battles plenty of times. But he was surprised that he'd actually moved to help a person that reminded him so much of that horrid sea wretch. He'd heard that severe trauma could cause one's hair to go white at an early age, but he'd never imagined that he'd see that kind of mane again.

They finished up the treatment of the head wound after a few minutes, with Bookman declaring that it wasn't all that serious, though he'd definitely have a scar. Lavi got up and walked over to Kanda's position on the wall without even putting hands on the boy to check his vitals. The red head was very pale, and his dark haired counterpart guessed that he'd also noticed the one striking similarity between this kid and the merman. If fact, judging by the looks on everyone's faces, he would have to guess that they'd _all _noticed. It wasn't as if they would forget something so recognizable so soon.

The mysterious boy was cleaned up, fully revealing a face that they all recognized, then proper bandages were put over the cut. Bak wrapped him in a blanket, telling Kanda that he would make sure his coat got cleaned.

"What should we do?" Lavi asked. Kanda chose to ignore the fact that his voice had cracked at the end of his question.

"We should take him into custody, of course!" Bak said.

"They may look similar, but this obviously isn't the merman. He has legs." Bookman said, though he sounded a bit uncertain.

Everyone just stood around for a while, trying to work out this puzzle. Eventually, Kanda got bored and pushed off the wall. He picked up the still unconscious boy, nodding when he saw that his breathing was much more normal now.

"Let's take him to one of the rooms we have at the inn. We can figure out what to do with him when he wakes up."

Once again, he just turned and walked out of the little Order outpost without waiting for a response.

He snuck a quick glance at the boy as he walked through the streets, studiously ignoring the odd glances that passerby gave him.

Now that he could actually see the half of his face that wasn't covered by bandages, Kanda thought that he had very pretty features. There was something almost unnatural about his looks, but that was the _only _thing setting him apart from anyone else. Now that he thought about it, the dark haired man knew why he wasn't reacting more violently toward this stranger.

He might have the same face, but this kid didn't have the same aura as the merman had. The ocean scum had been surrounded by loads of mysterious swirling energies, giving him a distinct and powerful chi. He could feel nothing out of the ordinary coming from the body huddled warmly in his arms. It wasn't as if this child could hide his aura when he was traumatized and passed out, so Kanda was positive that this boy had no relation to the merman that had attacked him.

Kanda shrugged. He was certain now that he'd never met this kid, and that his face was some sort of strange coincidence. Chi didn't lie, after all. But still, he couldn't help but feel as though this chance meeting was really an act of fate in disguise.

**~0x0~**

VineCaper- I am happy that you like it. ^_^

Ichigo1010- I said that Kanda would appear in this chapter. *points to AN in ch. 9* See? And no, Allen didn't loose his voice. That is a stupidly low price to pay for a year long transformation. Ariel got off easy. Allen wont, because Allen is fate's bitch. And there may be a little AxL, but not too much.

XxGothivXxXLolitaxX- I like to put surprising kisses in every now and then.

LizluvsSpongebob- They are a cute couple. I want to get to some lemony action soon too. ^_^

scrletfyre- Poor Kanda can't keep up. XD Lol

ivory-fanged-goddess- Merfolk are actually taller than people, because their tails and fins are a bit longer than legs. Cross was 6'4 in the anime, so I'd say that he'd be about 6'10 as a merman. And yeah, it just wouldn't be him if he wasn't a perv. ^_^

Miso Ramen-sama- Did you like how I portrayed Kanda? ^_^ I luffs him just as much as the next person.

Tintaglia In Flight- 'Man Hunt'...*thinks perverted thoughts* Lol. Yulaven is my new favorite word.

sweetkakes35- Did you like the way he reacted to Allen?

Conrii- You are the only person to actually guess one of the side effects correctly! Good job!

Anonymous- I wouldn't end it there! Gotta get to the smut! LOL.

KingRabbit- Meh, there will be some hard times in store for the boys, but it will turn out okay...I hope.

Starisia the Shadow Demon- I feel a little sorry for him too. He's not gonna be happy when he wakes up.

JayPay- BECAUSE BITTERSWEET IS THE FUEL FOR ALL FANFICTION! (Also, the humans can't get jiggy with the mermen. So, in the interest of smut, I must move Allen.)

Jasper-Jazz- Kanda and Lavi found him, that's how. *giggle*

kyone- Hmm...could be *waggles eyebrows*


	12. Chapter 12: Lavi

A short Lavi interlude, just so we knew how he is feeling before Allen wakes up. Next chapter will be Allen POV. BTW, I hate you all. I should be writing for my FMA story, but the damn mermaids won't leave me alone. I blame all of you. And Cross, I blame him too. *pouts* My other fandoms are going to lynch me...

**~0x0~**

_'It's Allen.'_

_'But it can't be.'_

_'But it _is_.'_

Lavi continued to argue with himself, as he had for the past hour.

He was sitting in a stiff backed chair in a teensy inn in a slightly less teensy town in Spain with three other men who were varying degrees of upset.

Bookman looked calm and cool on the outside, but Lavi knew the man as well as anyone, and the red head could tell that his mentor's mind was whirring faster than anyone could follow, trying to figure out what exactly was laying in one of the two small beds in this equally small room. Bak paced at the foot of the bed, obviously thinking hard about something, no longer even bothering to pretend that he was paying attention to his surroundings.

The one that he was really surprised at was Kanda. He'd been too shocked before to really think about it, but the swordsman's actions were downright bizarre. It wasn't so unusual for the Japanese man to help out an injured person, Lavi supposed, even if it was just delivering that person to the proper medical facilities. But it was pretty strange that Kanda had helped _this _person. Lavi would have expected the dark haired man to kill the boy himself, but not only had he helped him, he was the only one in the room that seemed to be completely calm. Where he should have been raging, demanding to behead anyone that even came close to looking like the merman, now that he'd turned the kid over to the proper people, he didn't even seem to care. Kanda just leaned against the wall and looked out the window.

Lavi wondered how Kanda refrained from freaking out, because frankly, he'd love to be able to say the same.

Finally, after about 10 more minutes of agitated silence, Bak started to speak, though Lavi wasn't quite sure if he was addressing the room or if he was talking to himself.

"Magic. This has to be a trick of their magic. There's no way that it's a coincidence." the blonde half spoke, half mumbled.

"We can't assume that. If the merman didn't have enough power to get away by himself for two weeks, then it doesn't seem likely that he could give himself legs." Bookman said, sounding quite tired.

Bak whirled on the shorter man opening his mouth, probably to shout angrily, but then he seemed to stop himself and took a deep breath.

"We still don't know the extent of their abilities. The evidence available points to it being an act of the merfolk's strange powers." Bak said slowly, drawing out his words.

"True. But why would they come to land? The merman demonstrated the ability to work magic on humans. He could have used an illusion to give an innocent bystander his visage for some plot. Perhaps he intended us to kill this boy so we would be lured into a false sense of security and stop looking for him." Bookman stood and walked to the side of the bed, observing it's inhabitant as he spoke.

"Isn't that over thinking things?" Bak countered.

"That actually seems to be the most likely answer." A deep voice from the other side of the room stated. They all turned to look at Kanda.

"What makes you think that?" asked the blonde.

"His aura isn't even remotely similar to the merman's. If there was any relation, I'd be able to tell." Kanda spoke while continuing to look out the window.

Bak cocked his head. "His aura?"

Bookman nodded, seeming to understand exactly what the dark haired man was talking about. "So you noticed it too."

Kanda just nodded.

Lavi took a deep breath. He couldn't read auras, or sense chi, or whatever it was that they were talking about, but...

"There's only one way to tell for sure." the red head muttered.

He stood, walking over to where his mentor stood.

_'But do I really want to know?' _Lavi asked himself. _'If it winds up being Allen, they'll kill him, and there won't be anything that I can do about it. And if it isn't Allen...then it isn't Allen.' _

For some reason, the second option seemed almost as bad as the first.

Hesitantly, Lavi reached out a hand, letting it hover above a pale wrist that rested limply on the sheets.

_'What will I do if it isn't him? More importantly, what will I do if it _is_?'_

Slowly, he extended a single finger and let it come to rest on the mysterious boy's wrist.

Lavi felt warm skin, perhaps a bit on the clammy side, still just a bit damp, probably from being near the ocean too long. But it was what he didn't feel that caused the crestfallen look that passed over his face.

There was no spark, no ensuing wonderful coolness. No magic.

No Allen.

"This..." Lavi swallowed around the strange lump in his throat and tried again. "Kanda's right. This isn't the merman."

"How can you tell?" Bak looked at him incredulously.

"I..." quickly, Lavi whipped up a little lie, knowing that it wouldn't take much truth bending to convince the others. "When he blew up his tank, I had to hold him down. When I touched him, I felt this painful jolt. He later told me that it was his magic reacting to me." Which wasn't entirely false, just taken out of context. "If this was really the merman, I'd feel that pain again," And deep within him, Lavi truly wished that he _was _feeling that little jolt, because it would be followed by cool bliss and the knowledge that Allen was by his side again. "But I don't feel anything." Lavi drew his hand back, hoping that he didn't look too dejected.

"So...this isn't the merman?" The heir of the Chang family asked.

The three men in the room who had said as much nodded in unison.

Finally, Bak looked at the boy, now sleeping soundly in the bed with a bit of skepticism. "Then...why the uncanny resemblance?"

Lavi shrugged. "Maybe coincidence. Maybe a sea creature trying to play a trick on us."

"We must act carefully." Bookman said, sending a strange glance toward his apprentice that made Lavi look away quickly. "If it turns out that this is some sort of strange coincidence, or that he has been involved unwillingly in all of this, we should do what we can to help and release him. If he has willingly helped the merfolk, then we must try and get any information we can out of him."

"We should take him with us to the European Branch," Lavi added, hoping that this Allen-who-was-not-Allen might have some answers for them. "We can keep him unconscious until we get there and explain the situation to the others. We will be better equipped to question him and give him a hand, should he require our help, if we take him there."

"Resorting to kidnapping, eh?" Kanda asked, finally looking away from the window.

"Maybe, but better safe than sorry. Plus, I have stay on schedule with my return to the Asia Branch. We shouldn't waste too much time on this." Bak said, as if he hadn't been freaking about the boy's appearance just a few minutes before.

The men all nodded in agreement and with that, they all went about with preparations. Kanda just left, apparently no longer interested. Bak left for the docks, wanting to secure passage for one more. Bookman left to gather herbs to blend that would keep the kid under until they got to HQ.

Lavi was left to quietly watch over the kid. As he monitored the steady rise and fall of his chest, the red head couldn't help but wonder what fate had in store for this poor boy.

**~0x0~**

To My Reviewers:

My ultimate answer- *giggle* You shall find out in the next chapter.

ivory-fanged-goddess- Kanda is a little dense, but we love him anyway.

fire-ball-kyo-DLM- I am so happy you like it!

Galagza- Lol, Derpy Hooves. SO true. Maybe fate does hate clowns...they sure as hell creep me out.

VineCaper- Glad you liked it. And Kanda doesn't hate him...yet. But their personalities are bound to clash later on. That's just how they work.

Tintaglia In Flight- Background music does help the mood, you are right. And I think everyone is looking forward to the steamy scenes.

Felnore- It doesn't make you a sadist. I will be cutting his hair soon too, so he will look even more like the guy we know and love.

Conrii- I was pretty happy about the scar coming into play too.

Miso Ramen-sama- Fabulous Max...I like it. ^_^ And we all know that he is rarely ever pleased with something, so it made sense.

P. junchai- Kanda is kinda cute. *giggle* They won't hurt him...probably.

TotalAmuto- HAHAHA, I KNOW RIGHT?

scrletfyre- I am glad I have you hooked. ^_~

moshimellow- Kanda is a dummy, isn't he? Then again, so is everybody else, but who cares? He's hot, that's all that matters.

Kayday- NOM NOM NOM. (lol)

Jasper-Jazz- I CAN'T WAIT FOR HIM TO WAKE UP EITHER.

Ichigo1010- Wow! First let me thank you for such a long and lovely review! I am happy that Kanda is back too, I missed him. Initially, I had it planned that Kanda would take care of Allen all by himself for an while, but I think this makes more sense. No Disney shit. *nomz cake* I feel a little bad for Allen, but not too much, because he is a BAMF (Thank you for introducing me to that word, Galagza). Kanda is a bit of an idiot, but that's okay. And I looked up that story you mentioned, though I haven't had time to read it yet. It's on my list. And he gets the tattoo's eventually in the manga (Haven't watched the anime, because it ends wrong, so I dunno about that.) And yes, the Noah will be making an appearance...there will be mention of one sooner than you might think, in a way that is totally sneaky, but makes perfect sense. *looks at next chapter and smiles* The aura did indeed have something to do with his magic, very good guess. And now that his 'precious _something_' has been taken away, nobody can sense it anymore. ^_^ I put some Kanda-ignoring-the-world-action in this chapter, just for you.

sweetkakes35- If you ever figure out what was off, let me know. I love constructive criticism. Also, I don't have an ending planned. In fact, I only have a vague idea for the next chapter. My stories tend to write themselves without any of my input.

LizluvsSpongebob- I didn't want to make Kanda into a Cullen, because he is WAY too awesome to sparkle.


	13. Chapter 13: Allen

(Longest AN ever-Commence) I'M DISOWNING ALL OF YOU! You bastards sicked the mermaids on me, and now they won't let go! I'm just a humble author-person, why are you doing this to me! When I started this story, I thought, "Oh, this will be kinda cute, a little off shoot for my spare time," but nooooooooooo. You guys just had to go and make it so damn tempting for me to continue to write this one and struggle with my FMA story. Arrrrggghhh. I couldn't help it really. Go look at the stats of my two main stories. LTIS has almost double the worlds and quadruple the amount of hours put into it, but this story has almost as many reviews...I'm getting tons of them. I have a feeling that you guys will overrun the FMA crowd soon...If any of you like FMA, go read my other one and review, so I can get a kick start on it. And if you don't like FMA, then you aren't doing it right. So yeah. You suck for being such wonderful fans. Damn you all. *shakes fist* This is turning out to be quite the love/hate relationship...

Lol, you seem to have gotten the wrong idea. I am historically a _horrible _updater. There have been times that I've gone months without posting anything at all. And my chapters in my other stories are just as short as the chapters in this one. I am neither consistent nor swift with my writing, but this thing has fucking thrown me for a loop. Like, I write fricking constantly at school. In fact, I am on break right now, as I write this AN. I can only hope that this isn't a signal that I'm going to run out of steam. Keep up the great reviews so we can make sure that doesn't happen, okay?

I have a question for you guys. Actually, a couple of questions. Have you ever had a reading-drought? Like...nothing you read has been interesting enough to continue with for so long, that you don't even want to read at all? I am in one at the moment. I can't even pick up a book right now, and I only make it a couple of chapters in for online stories before I get burned out. It doesn't seem to be affecting my writing too much, but it is sort of depressing. Also-have any of you actually read my other stories? How do you decide what you will read on here? Is it by the author, do you not pick up some of my others because of the number of reviews, or the fandom? How about with other authors? I'd love to know. Someday, I will finish one of these stupid things I am working on right now, and I will start again on my FMA vampire story, or start posting and actually working on one of my other ideas (which include, but are not limited to: a FF7 crossover short emo-esque story, a KH adventure involving AU and dead people, a Naruto AU humor/bakery thing, an FMA smutty bondage oneshot, and-holy shit a Hetero FFX courtly love.) ...I'm gonna be writing these damn things until I'm 80.

*Ahem* Anyway...Allen time! Fun fun fun. Also, Kanda in the last chapter was kinda fun. He was all "Okay, I've taken care of it, it's out of my hands now, so I don't give a fuck." *huggles Kanda* Haha, I know that a lot of the people on this site are pretty young. Do you guys have to worry about your parents finding you with this stuff? My mom actually reads this story from time to time (she likes the turtlez too). A friend of mine from school reads it over my shoulder when I write, but she isn't really into anime, so she just assumed that Kanda is a swordsman and can read auras since he's Asian. Because, you know all Asians know kung-fu, wield swords, write haiku, and have sex with tentacle monsters. Obviously, Kanda must do all of these things, right? *tries to envision it* LOL. (Why are there so many different spellings for DGM character names?)

**~0x0~**

Pain. That's all there was. Slowly, the pain faded to a dull ache that throbbed in time with someone's heartbeat. This was easier to deal with, and sleep enveloped his mind.

After what seemed like forever, some light filtered into his brain. It wasn't really awareness-it was more like separating himself from the pain so he could think. His consciousness remained stubbornly out of reach, so he let his subconscious take over, and he noted wearily that he couldn't quiet recall much about anything at all, really.

Something within him called for him to systematically go through all the facts he had. He shrugged and complied, having nothing better to do.

_'Let's start with the basics: What is your name?'_

_'Uh...'_

_'I'll give you a hint-it starts with an 'A'.'_

_'A...Ah...Al...len?'_

_'Very good. Your name is Allen. Now. Where are you?'_

_'...I dunno?'_

_'You should probably start figuring that out then.'_

_'Why?'_

_'Because. Don't you remember what happened?'_

_'No...'_

The voice in his mind that sounded strangely familiar sighed exasperatedly.

_'Fine. Let's see if this helps.'_

Something reached out from the depths and nudged him a bit. When he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, it took hold of his shoulders and _shook _him.

_'Wake up!'_

**~0x0~**

Memories flooded into Allen's head. Everything that had happened came back to him in a nauseating rush, causing him to gasp. He jerked awake, eyes flying open and arms flailing.

His heart hammered and his breath came to him in short, sharp gasps.

_"Good Luck, Idiot Apprentice."_

Allen cursed his master for putting through that horrible experience. For a second, he simply panted, wondering why his head hurt so much. Then, he remembered:

The spell.

His hand flew up to the side of his neck. No gills. He took a deep breath through his nose and was surprised at how natural it felt. Slowly, he extended his arms out in from of him. His right one remained unchanged, but there were markings all over his left that didn't come off when he rubbed at them. He looked down, and saw two distinct bumps under the cloth that was covering them. When he tried to move his fins, both bumps moved. Allen sat up quickly, and flung the cloth from his body, marveling at what he saw. There were two legs where his tail used to be and-wait, were those human clothes?

Tentatively, he felt the pants that he was somehow wearing, jumping a little bit when he could feel the touch through them. The white haired youth slid his hand up to the shirt that covered his torso. He then moved his hand to the side of his head that he couldn't see from. As soon as he touched the left side of his face, it throbbed, making his teeth clench. Once it had become bearable again, he lightly drew his fingertips over the rough fabric that seemed to be wrapped around his head.

For a few minutes, Allen paid attention to nothing but the changes to his body, experimenting with his new joints, trying to judge his current range of movement, checking for injuries (His new toes were quite fascinating). Finally, when he knew that he could no longer ignore it, he checked the most important thing-his magic.

He closed his eyes (or the one eye that seemed to be functioning at the moment) and searched his soul for that vital spark that lit his whole world. But there was nothing, no response. He was in the dark. It was like part of him had been ripped out, leaving him feeling very violated, very afraid, and so utterly hollow inside. Allen actually started to tear up and he called upon his Lenalee's words for strength.

"_I know you can do it. We all believe in you."_

Allen shook his head, blinking back the unshed tears. No point in crying over something that he couldn't change. He might as well try to make the best of all this. He looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time since waking up.

He was on...something. He thought back to his two weeks on board that ship, recalling all the conversations he'd had with Lavi and all the things that the human had told him about. It wasn't everything there was to know about human society, but it was a good starting point. He dredged up all the information he'd gathered and concluded that he was on a very oddly shaped chair, big enough for one to lay down in. He was in a room with a window and a door. On the wall, there was a small mirror.

Allen awkwardly swung his legs off the 'chair', nearly yelping when his feet hit the cold stone floor. He took a deep breath (without gills or having to think about it!) to calm himself.

_'I can do this. I saw humans do it all the time on this ship. Walking should be no big deal, right?'_

Using the platform/chair that he was on as leverage, Allen tried to stand. He promptly found himself sitting back down, so he tried again. And again. And one more time.

_'How do they do this?'_

Slowly, Allen tried once more and was encouraged when he didn't immediately fall back down. Slowly, while still leaning against his chair, he straightened up, adjusting his footing as he did. He was standing.

_'That wasn't so bad, I guess. It's all in the position of the knees and the placement of the feet. Walking should be a breeze.'_

He continued to tell himself this, even after the first five attempts to take a step. On the sixth try, he managed to actually complete the step and remain somewhat balanced. On the seventh try, he accomplished three steps, which he was quite proud of, until he realized that he was now stranded in the middle of the floor with nothing to hold onto. Allen swallowed audibly. He looked at the mirror on the wall and glared at it, cursing it for being three more steps away. Allen gathered his wits about him, determined to not be beaten by simple motion and stiffened his spine, drawing up to his full height. He found that he kept his balance easier with his arms out, so he spread them wide, closed his eyes and made one, two, three precisely timed steps. He wobbled a bit, but managed to right himself and opened his eyes. When he did, he was face to face with his own countenance in the mirror.

Allen laughed and heaved a sigh of relief. He studied his reflection for several moments, noting that his hair looked a bit different. It was...shiny. Maybe a bit softer than it was before. It reminded him of the hair that his cousins, the river Naiads, had. This made him think that he'd been exposed to freshwater at some point while he was passed out. Then he turned his attention to the fabric on his head. Judging by the pain, there was probably a wound under there, and he guessed that the cloth was for stemming the blood flow. His face didn't feel wet though, (which was really strange...he normally concluded that feeling dry was an abnormal state of being, not the other way around. This body was really throwing him for a loop.) so he guessed that the bleeding had already stopped. He started to gently fiddle with the strip of cloth, slowly loosening it until it fell from his head to rest on the floor, which sort of hurt, since it was stuck to his face a little bit. When it finally fell completely away, Allen leaned in close and examined himself.

There was a horrible gash running down the left side of his face. It was still very red and puckered, an angry line over his eye. He had wondered where he'd gotten wounded, but the odd preciseness and delicate lines told him that this was caused by magic. It must have been one of the 'side effects' his master had described. When Allen tried to open his eye it hurt like hell, but the lid did flutter, and he saw some white under it before his eyes teared up.

_'At least my left eye is still there.' _he thought, dabbing at the moisture.

Now that he'd sort of learned to stumble his way across the floor and had taken inventory of all the changes to his body, Allen decided that it was high time he figured out where he was. He shuffled over to the window, moving his hand along the wall for support. When he looked out, he gasped. Far below him, there were rolling green hills, dotted by small little things that he assumed were buildings. Little plumes of smoke rose from the buildings, and Allen shuddered. He knew smoke came from fire, and he knew what a fire could do to a ship. He wondered why the humans weren't trying to put it out. He couldn't see much of the building he was in, but it must have been pretty tall.

_'Wait...Master said that the spell would drop me off on the beach. But I can't even see a river, much less an ocean. I don't smell the sea in the air, either. How did I get here?'_

Well, there was only one way to find out.

He turned around and made his way to the door, only falling once. He was actually able to pick himself back up again, and was very proud at the swift progress that he was making.

He finally got to his destination, and he tried to remember how the humans had operated these things. After about a minute of pushing on the door without it budging, he remembered the handle. Tentatively, he turned the knob, pleased when he heard a soft click. He slowly pushed the door open, trying to peek out of the crack. When he saw nothing, he pushed the door open the rest of the way.

A blood curdling scream filled the air. Allen jerked back, and would have fallen over, had he not still been holding onto the door.

"EEP!...O-Oh...You're awake...W-Wonderful..."

A thin, angular woman huddled on the floor in front of his doorway. She had dark, curly hair and bags under her eyes.

_'Well...at least I can understand the language. I should try and be polite and blend in...It would be horrible if someone found out that I am really a merman.'_

"Uh...I'm sorry...Did I startle you?" Allen asked, still not letting go of the door for fear that he would lose his balance.

"Y-Yes, just a bit..." the woman stood, though she kept she body slightly turned, as if poised to run.

They just stared at each other for a long moment, which would have been fine with Allen, if he hadn't had so many questions.

"Uhm..." the woman flinched at the sound of his voice. "Could you tell me-"

"OH!" Allen was now the one to flinch at her sudden outburst. "You t-took your bandages off...that's no good, it hasn't healed yet." she took a step to the right. "Come along, I'll lead you to someone who can patch that up for you."

Slowly, Allen nodded, wondering if all human females were this daft. He took a step and stumbled, keeping himself from falling by holding onto the door jam.

"A-are you all right?"

"Yes...I'm just a bit dizzy." Allen lied.

"Oh...well..." The woman trembled slightly for a moment, then her hand shot out and grabbed Allen's wrist. Allen jumped a bit, but he didn't lash out. Her hand was a bit clammy, but her grip was gentle enough. "I'll help you get there, then..." And with that, she tugged a bit, prying his hand from the door frame and tugging him along the hall, helping to steady him when he wobbled along the way.

_'She's a little odd, but she doesn't seem like a bad person...' _Allen thought, a strange feeling of fondness growing within him.

As they walked, Allen looked around, trying to figure out where he was, but this just seemed to be one long stone hallway with the occasional door thrown in for fun. Torches were at regular intervals along the wall, and Allen made sure not stray too near to them. He didn't like fire. It was too hot, and smelled funny, and put ashy wreckage into the ocean that left your hands black when you touched it. The light from them became less and less necessary as they neared what looked to be an exit. Allen had to blink a couple times to adjust to the light once they were out of the hallway. Once he could see properly, He was taken aback. This place was certainly impressive.

They were in a single circular room that seemed to span all the floors of this building, ringed by platforms like the one they were currently standing on. The whole ceiling was glass, letting in loads of sunlight.

"Wh-Where are we?" Allen asked, still rubbernecking, realizing that there were still so many things that he didn't know.

"This is the European Branch of the Black Order." The woman answered simply.

She continued to half carry, half drag him along, walking around the edge of the platform to yet another door. She opened it and pulled him through to a room that was absolutely gigantic, with several windows along one wall. Looking around, Allen saw a few faces he recognized, and many that he didn't. Before he could even react, the woman who'd escorted him here began to speak.

"Oh, good. You're all here." The woman pale woman said, seeming a bit more comfortable in this new company. "He's awake. Rohfa, could you replace his bandages?"

"Oh! Why, yes, of course!" A smaller girl rushed over to him and he was once again dragged across the floor to one of the many chairs dotting the room. This new person had some really strange hair and was oddly flushed as she pulled more 'bandages' out of nowhere and began to wrap them around his head.

Once she was finished and pulled back a bit, he noticed that every single person in the room was staring at him, but one gaze in particular stuck out.

_'Lavi! Lavi will help me figure a way out of this, I'm sure.' _

Allen did his best to keep his emotions off his face.

"Uh, I don't mean to be rude but...could someone please tell me what is going on?" Allen asked.

"Perhaps you can tell us." A tall, serious looking man stepped forward. He had long sort of dirty blonde hair and odd dots on his forehead.

"I am Inspector Howard Link from Central. We have brought you here to conduct an investigation."

"An investigation of what? Have I done something wrong?"

The man didn't even seem to hear his question. "Have you always looked this way?"

"Huh?" Allen asked, thinking that there were much better questions to begin with.

"Your appearance. Have your hair and eyes always been that color?"

Allen understood. This man must have been told of his time on the ship and was trying to figure out whether or not the boy before him was really a merman. He should've just asked if Allen had always had legs.

_'Ignorance! Feign ignorance.'_

"I'm not sure. I don't remember much."

Inspector Howard Link's face seemed to tighten around the edges a bit. Allen heard whispers all across the room.

"Amnesia?" One man asked.

"An obvious lie." said another.

"But he has experienced shock and severe head trauma...the symptom matches the cause. And the...creature has show the ability to tamper with people's minds." said the little old man that Allen had seen on the ship.

Lavi stood from the seat he was reclining in as the speculation continued to fly about as if they thought Allen was hard of hearing or something. He walked over to the Inspector and whispered something in his ear. Howard Link merely nodded.

Lavi then made his way over to where Allen was and leaned down with a smile that looked horribly fake. "Come now. You remember me, don't you? We're friends, right?"

Allen worked desperately to keep his mask in place. "Uh...no, I don't recognize you...have we met?"

"Come on, it's me, Lavi. Surely you remember me, right Allen?" The red head continued to speak, but his heart just wasn't in it. Somehow, Allen knew that Lavi didn't really believe that a merman had come to the surface. And for now, Allen could do nothing but lead him on.

"Allen? Who's that?"

"You don't recognize that name?"

"No."

"Then...what is your name?"

Allen pondered it for a moment, outwardly making his face appear as though he was trying very hard to remember. After a couple moments, he said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Neah. The only thing I can seem to remember is the word 'Neah.' Maybe that's my name." Allen lied.

_'Strange...I'm pretty sure I've never heard that name before...I wonder where that came from? Oh well...'_

"Neah, then. Do you remember anything else?"

Allen shook his head, keeping a slightly afraid, mostly dumbfounded look on his face. He had to make this believable.

The little old man stepped forward and Lavi shrugged, going back to his seat.

"So you remember nothing? Nothing about your past, or even how you got that wound?" the elderly man asked.

Once again, Allen shook his head.

"Very well. We believe that you have been involved in some sort of plot against the Black Order. As of this moment, you are not suspected of willingly complying. The Order thinks that your appearance and memories have been tampered with in a vain effort to make us believe that you are someone else. We wish to keep you here, in the European Branch, so that we can find some way to help a poor soul that has unwittingly been pulled into our affairs."

_'In other words, you want to keep tabs on me to make sure I don't try anything funny.'_

"Oh, of course." Allen tried to sound just a little lost and naive, but willing to help. "I'd like it if you could help me get my memories back."

_'Ask questions. A person who had just been told their memories had been taken away would ask questions.'_

"But..." Allen hesitated, trying to seem as though he was struggling to piece everything together. "Who could do such things? And why would they want to?"

The little old man simply looked at him for a moment, then leaned in close.

"Neah, do you believe in fairytales?"

Allen cocked his head, not because of the question, but because responding to his new alias felt completely natural. Strange. Very strange.

The wrinkled little man took that confused look to be Allen's wordless response, and continued to speak.

"We think that a mermaid has worked its magic on you."

Allen widened his eyes and opened his mouth a bit, a perfect picture of surprise. In his head, he was griping at the stupid human.

_'I already told you, dammit. I am a _merman_.'_

The old man nodded in agreement with his reaction. "Mermaids are horrible, evil creatures that hurt humans. If you really had a run in with one, then you are very lucky to be alive."

"Wow." Allen dramatically clutched at his own chest. "That's...terrifying. You're really going to help me get rid of a mermaid's magic?"

"Yes, lad, we'll help you."

"Then...thank you very much. I hope I won't be too much of a bother to you." Allen bowed his head and pasted on a grateful, innocent smile. Inside the darkness of his mind, he was calculating his next move, trying to find a way out of this mess.

_'Hopefully, it won't be too much of a bother to get _away _from you.'_

**~0x0~**

To My Reviewers:

Kurazilssia- See what I did there? *points at name* I put all your names together for major awesomeness. Thanks for all the reviews! No real memory loss, Allen is too awesome for that. The Noahs will probably make an appearance at some point, though I haven't quite decided when or how. I hope Kuu-tan, Razill-chan and Kussia-san continue to enjoy my story.

Felnore- Hehe. I really don't want to rush this story, because I believe that good things take time. One of my favorite authors recently updated her story, and before, it was slow building, believable, and quite enchanting, but the most recent chapter introduced a villain, confronted the main character and had them sit down to discuss the afterlife all in one go. It sucked. I really want to avoid that with my story.

JayPay- He was nekkid, just under the covers. A noa didn't really appear this chapter...OR DID HE! *dun dun dun* And yes, Kanda is Kanda, and I wouldn't have him any other way.

XxkogainugamixX- WOW! Thanks for such high praise. I am glad to give you hope for this fandom, because a lot of fanfictions can be pretty hopeless.

scrletfyre- ^_^ I like fans who try to read deeper into the story and make their own opinions. It tells me that my story really makes you think, which is pretty awesome. Thanks for reviewing!

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- Awww, I am really glad you look forward to these chapters!

Miso Ramen-sama- Let me just say that your reviews crack me up. I burst out laughing when I read the thing about the pancake fryer. I can wait for the fights either. Those are going to be damn funny.

ivory-fanged-goddess- They work for the Black Order, but their jobs are not quite the same as in the anime. That will be explained more next chapter.

kyone- That would be pretty funny.

fan-fan31- It's okay that you missed out. You are back now, and you left me a review, which is awesome. Yeah, poor Kanda. Having a totally hot mythical creature that doesn't even want to kill him drop into his lap. What an unfortunate soul. XD

LizluvsSpongebob- Smutty smutty merfolk are smutty. That's how. (Also, that's why I turned Allen human, so I don't have to worry about figuring that out.)

KingRabbit- Lavi is very disappointed, but not for long. Eventually, things will work themselves out.

sweetkakes35- Kanda is awesome sauce. Lavi couldn't immediately tell because Allen is a damn fine actor. Also, Allen picked up some of the basics about humans on the ship, remember. He has a lot to learn, but it's better than nothing, and that's also why I had him spend so much time as a captive. It gave him more time to learn about the land, since he would eventually be going there. ^_^

Conrii- No, it's not cruel. I like Allen's scar too.

Kawaii Bishyness- I'm not all that fast, just obsessed. ^_^ I am glad that you like my story.

TotalAmuto- ALLEN IS SO DAMN SNEAKY! I LUFSS IT! AND I LUFFS YOU TOO! *glomp*

Tintaglia In Flight- Hehe, I don't think that's so strange, I do victory dances all the time. Allen reacted calmly and sneakily, just like he should. Allen is damn smart under pressure, after all. Hehe, thanks for protecting me from the FMA crowd...they are probably pretty upset right about now.

HeidiFox- Hehehe. LOL. *runs from sparkles*


	14. Chapter 14: Allen

ALLEN IS GOD!...Or something like that. I needed to have some male bonding between Link and Allen, because in the manga the two of them are just adorable together. Probably my favorite pairing that doesn't involve Kanda or Lavi. There wont be any of that in this fic, but still, I want them to at least be good friends by the end of this. (I might do a smutty oneshot with a fun foursome if I'm feeling frisky sometime in the future though.) No real plot development here, just wanted to make Allen look like Allen, you know? I think I am finally going to ditch the bandages completely next chapter too...sorry it's so short. Been occupied with other things a bit...*goes back to laughing my ass of at FF X-2*

On a personal note, I have started making jewelry. You can find a link to my deviantart and my jewelry pics on my profile, if you want to see.

**~0x0~**

Allen was annoyed.

He'd been here for three days already and not once had he seen the one person he wanted to talk to.

Inspector Howard Link would not leave him alone. Allen understood that assigning him a 'guide' was really a way for the Black Order to keep tabs on their guest. He hadn't been able to shake the man yet. Hell, they'd even moved him to a new room that he shared with the blonde man.

On the bright side, he'd gotten much better at walking. Now he only tripped if he wasn't paying attention to his feet.

He hadn't seen Lavi since their brief talk that first day. He looked for the red head desperately, but Howard Link wouldn't let him go very many places within the building. In fact, Allen was only allowed to walk from his room, to the bathroom, and to a small sitting room that the little old man (Who's name Allen had finally learned was Bookman) met with the white haired boy once a day in. The Bookman asked him all sorts of questions to 'try and make memories resurface'. In reality, he was trying to figure out if Allen was lying about having amnesia, but Allen didn't mind because it was an hour away from Inspector Two Dots. The second day, the Bookman had told him that Kanda had been the one to save him, and Allen had a genuinely tough time keeping the shock off his face. That certainly didn't seem like something the long haired man would do...he'd decided to seek out the enigma as well, to see if he could figure out why, but he had yet to catch sight of him.

The little girl with glasses and strange hair who had introduced herself as Rohfa had taken to bringing Allen his meals. And Allen ate ALOT. His appetite had increased tenfold since he'd come to land (though he still refused to eat any meat they gave him). Allen guessed that it was yet another side effect of the spell. By the second day, they'd learned that he was a bottomless pit and started bringing him many times the amount of food that a normal person would eat.

He enjoyed the few minutes a day that he got to spend with Rohfa. She was a bit timid, but she always answered his questions, no matter how silly, and always gave him a smile.

Mostly, the days were long, because the Inspector really didn't talk much, but it was tolerable.

Today, though, was turning out to be pretty irritating.

Allen learned that humans washed themselves in freshwater to keep clean. Which was fine with him. In fact, he loved bath time, because even though it wasn't an ocean, it was still water, and he missed water. But ever since he started washing his hair in freshwater, the texture had started to change. It was pretty gradual, but it was starting to get softer, frizzier, and more susceptible to tangling. He was really getting fed up with it. In the ocean, hair just floated around you, not in the way at all, but on land, it got into your food, got caught in your bandages and was generally a nuisance.

He and Link were in their room, each sitting on their separate beds (Allen had learned that the elongated chairs were really called 'beds'), with Link flipping though a book and Allen staring out the small window while trying to tame his unruly mane. After the tenth time of snagging his long hair on his fingers, he was done.

"Hey, Link." Allen said.

The Inspector looked up from the book he was reading (Allen had snuck a peek at it and was dismayed to find that the spell had not allowed him the ability to read) and blinked at his white haired counterpart to show that he was listening.

"Help me with this." Allen tugged lightly on his hair for emphasis.

The blonde just raised an eyebrow.

"It's getting in my way. Could you help me with it please?"

"You want me to tie it back?"

Allen shook his head. "No...it'll still get tangles."

"That's because you never brush it properly."

"If you'd let me practice on your hair, maybe I would."

Link rolled his eyes. "I can't believe how much you've forgotten. And there's no way I'm going to let you touch my hair."

"It takes too long to brush this much hair, and it pulls. I didn't even like it when Rohfa tried to brush it, what makes you think that I could tame this mess?"

"Then what do you want me to do about it, Neah?"

"I want you to help me get it shorter."

Link fully closed his book and straightened up. "You want me to cut your hair?"

"Well, I obviously can't do it myself, and you are the only one around, so...please?"

The blonde sighed and muttered something about being subjected to idiocy under his breath. He stood and told Allen to stay where he was, then he left. Just left, without locking the door or anything. Allen was dumbfounded. This whole time, he'd not been able to get two minutes of privacy for the most legitimate of reasons (the man even followed Allen to the bathroom, which was really awkward when Allen was still learning to use the damn things) and now that the white haired youth had asked for a hair cut, he just left?

Would wonders never cease?

Slowly, Allen stood and walked over to the door, opening it as cautiously as he could. He peeked out. No sign of his 'guide'. He stepped out and looked left and right, making sure he was alone. There was no one around, but unfortunately, all the hallways looked the same. Allen was fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to find this room again, should he get lost. He sighed, deciding not to risk it just yet and stepped back inside, though he made a mental note to analyze this situation later and try and come up with more scenarios that would make Link leave him for a few minutes.

After a while, his babysitter returned with a towel and something sinister looking in his hands.

"What's that?"

Link just looked at him like he was the dumbest thing to ever walk the face of the Earth.

"Seriously? I was always told the amnesia only affected personal memories and not general knowledge."

Allen flinched, pretending to act timid. He needed to continue to establish this nice, weak little child that he'd been portraying, even as he and 'Neah' gained confidence in the world around them. "Sorry, I just..."

Link rolled his eyes. "Don't get all emotional on me now." Link walked to the middle of the floor and laid the towel down. "Stand on this." He commanded.

Allen nodded and did as he was told. Link walked around and started to remove Allen's bandages.

"What're you doing that for?"

"These will only get in the way. If I'm to see to your personal hygiene, then I want to at least do it properly."

Once the bandages were off, Link held up the strange device in his hands.

"These are scissors. They're for cutting things. Now be quiet."

_'Why go out of your way to helpfully explain things, if you are just going to have a bad attitude about it?' _Allen wondered. But he just shrugged it off and fell silent.

From behind him, Allen heard a _snip, snip, snip_. He tensed up the first couple of times he heard the sound next to his ear, but eventually he relaxed. He watched in wonder as little white locks fell to the floor and clumped together on the towel. It took a while, but eventually his head began to feel much lighter and Link walked around to his front and started carefully cutting his bangs.

After he was done, the Inspector took a step back an surveyed his handiwork. He must've been satisfied, because he nodded to himself.

"Now, bend over and shake your head to get any stay hair out."

Allen once again did as he was told and watched the last few strands fall to the floor.

Link made him step off the towel and then folded it up, catching all the hair in it without having to clean anything up, which Allen thought was very clever. He set the towel and the scissors off to the side, them grabbed the dreaded brush off their small shared dresser that held Link's clothes and the small allotment of clothing that the Order had loaned to Allen (Buttons were a bitch to deal with, he'd found).

Link tossed Allen the brush. "Here. It should be easier to deal with now."

"Thanks..." Allen tentatively ran it through his hair, being very careful around the left side of his face which was still very tender. Link was right. It didn't take long at all for him to pass the brush over all parts of his hair, as he'd seen the humans do. Link nodded in approval again, and went to fetch new bandages (which were kept inside the room, since Allen often took them off, because they were hot and itchy) and while he was doing that, Allen walked to the small mirror on the wall and inspected himself.

His hair was much shorter now, with sort of a choppy, spiky feeling to it. His bangs weren't in his face nearly as much, and now that he wasn't downing in a mass of hair, he actually looked a bit bigger. Allen really liked it.

"Hey."

Allen looked over at Link, and the blonde grunted in response.

"Thank you." Allen said sincerely.

The Inspector looked over at that and studied Allen for a moment. Then he turned his eyes away, a slightly bashful look on his face.

"No problem." he muttered.

**~0x0~**

To My Reviewers:

Miso Ramen-sama- Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Funfunfun.

sweetkakes35- I'm glad you liked that. I really tend to question fics that have seamless transitions like that, so I am happy you noticed.

scrletfyre- I am glad you are liking it so much!

xenawp532- I'm super happy you are enjoying this. This is shameless advertising, but I do have a Naruto story, if you'd like to read it.

River Flows Backwards/Ichigo1010- Holy Shit. Just. Ohmigod. *dies* Ok, uhm, where to start? Let's see...Oh! The tattoos! His arm gets black tattoos as one of the later forms of his innocence in the manga (I think they might be red or something in the anime) It was after his arm lost the scaly look...If you look up 'Allen Walker tattoo' on Google, you can see pictures of it. Lavi probably will be the first one to puzzle everything out. Doughnut shops? Sure, why not? Lol, describing things by their own name in all caps for lack of any better adjective is okay with me. Reading-Block. That sounds about right...Yes, yes, go read my other babies and give them reviews too! If you like FMA, I bet you will enjoy LTIS. I also have a angsty Naruto oneshot and an FMA vamp story up. Wow, I have proven myself in the fandom...that's high praise. I fucking love Neah, so I had to put him in someplace. I felt bad for Lavi too...and poor Allen, having to learn to walk 250 years too late. XD Allen does have a lot of wiggle room with his story, and he will need every bit of it if he's gonna get out of this mess...not that I will let that happen so easily...*insert evil laugh here* (I think you did write more than my chapter...) LOL, how do you know I am a 'Missy'? XDDD I might have a penis, one can never be too sure. PS-I LOVE YOU!

animefan02- I am glad you are so excited to see things develop. The Yummy Yullen will get here, don't fret.

AuburnLove- I'm only as good as my readers encourage me to be. ^_^ Thanks so much for your kind words.

Conrii- I am certainly happy that it was a pleasant surprise.

ivory-fanged-goddess- Lol, I'm happy you find the story to be interesting.

vinecaper- Here you go!

Tintaglia In Flight- Allen will probably at least try to talk to Lavi when he gets the chance. No Kanda this chapter...*hides* He's pretty illusive. I hope my creative juices never run dry too...that would suck.

LizluvsSpongebob- The spellings in the printed manga, the online scans, the anime guides, and the DGM wiki are all fucking different. It drove me batty trying to figure out if I should use 'Rohfa' or 'Roufa'. Ugh.

Oaken Wren- I am soooo happy you think I am doing a good job!

TotalAmuto- I KNOW RIGHT? THESE ALL CAPS REPLIES ALWAYS MAKE MY DAY. XD

Kayday- Lol, I feel your pain.

Kurazilssia- Kuu-tan: Ah luffs yew too! Razill-chan: You don't speak alot, huh? Reminds me of Kanda. *huggles* Kussia-san: Plus a zillion points to you for having the name in the first place!

yang003- I wish I was a good actor like Allen too...:(

JayPay- Hehe, you are starting to see some of my plan with the 'Neah' thing, eh? SO clever.

My ultimate answer- Being kinda right still counts in my book. ^_^

KyoneRiverblade- Once Kanda and Allen start shacking up, I will be sure to throw in some cuddlez.

Cookies of Doom- I do like author's notes...Not really Black Allen, just...Allen has always been a man of many masks and layers, throughout DGM. I wanted to keep him that way in this too, even as he grows as a character over the course of the story.

endingscome100- Lol, Death Note. Allen isn't quite that evil. XD


	15. Chapter 15: Allen

I learn all sorts of things from this story. Lots of mythology and stuff, of course, and many facts about sea creatures (barnacles freak me out). But I also learn about history and different countries. I have hits on this thing from places I've never even heard of. Which makes me sound like an arrogant American, I'm sure. But I'm willing to free myself from that ignorance, and I look up stuff about the countries I get regular views from. It's pretty interesting. So thanks for helping a hick like me to branch out. Also, I learned that you guys have a brother series. And I mean that in the worst sort of way. FF X has just as many bad OC-shippers and High school angst stories as DGM does...ugh.

BWAHAHAHA! Just. *giggle* I love this story, I fucking love it. Hahahahah. Mermen discovering penises is the funniest fucking thing I have ever written, at least to me. Seriously, I was sitting around laughing as I typed this up. Morning wood is gold. And, for those ladies out there that may not know, it's more annoying than exciting. Allen is so smart in some ways, but so dumb in others. I just wanted to remind everyone that he's still imperfect and naive, no matter how good his acting skills are. Also, I missed Kanda. Eventually I will lose the quotations around 'Neah' as he becomes more and more established.

**A slight smut warning for this chapter. **Though, it's not really smut, as opposed to badly masked comedy. I seem to be very good with masturbation...it's the only kind of smut that I regularly write. (For those of you that have read LTIS, you know what I am talking about.) Is that strange?

**~0x0~**

The first five days were all about getting used to his new body and learning about the completely foreign world around him. The sixth day was spent laying low and finally convincing his babysitter that he didn't need the annoying bandages anymore. The last night of the week was spent in silent celebration, because Link had to go away to make a report and would not be back until the afternoon of the following day.

The morning of the eighth day, Allen discovered something strange.

The odd little device that he'd discovered humans used to go to the restroom was behaving strangely.

Normally, it just sort of stayed there, in between his legs. In fact, it usually tried to get in his way when he was putting on his clothes. Allen thought that it was an awful waste of space and highly inefficient.

But today it was doing something that it had never done before. It was standing up. All on its own, without any help. Allen would have been jealous that it had made quicker progress than he had in that department, if it weren't for the distracting sensations that seemed to go along with this new discovery.

It was something almost like pain but not quite. The strange appendage tingled oddly, and left him feeling a bit hot and sort of impatient, but he didn't exactly know why.

Since Link wasn't around, Allen decided that he would just have to figure this one out by himself. At first, he wondered if the little thing was broken, since it was sort of swollen, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. Perhaps it had been asleep this whole time and was only now waking up? He tried talking to it, telling it to lie down, because it wasn't a problem right now, since could just roll up his sleeping gown, but putting on pants with it in that position was going to be difficult. It didn't seem to want to listen. Well, Allen thought that maybe since it was attached to him, he could move it independently of the rest of his body, just like his other limbs. When he tried to move it, it twitched a bit, but he couldn't get it to lie down.

Well, this was troublesome.

He tentatively poked it. This had the interesting effect of making his legs jerk a bit, and it felt good, in a strange sort of way. He poked it again, and a third time before deciding that this was accomplishing nothing and felt decidedly unsatisfying for some reason.

He humphed at it, and crossed his arms. He held this pose until he noticed that it had become a bit red at the tip. Allen took this as a sign of defiance, which just made him angry. His own body was rebelling against him! He wouldn't put up with that.

Using his whole hand, he pushed the unruly little doodad down, forcing it to once again rest between his legs. Oddly, this also felt good.

Once he felt as though he'd punished it enough, he let go, but it just hopped right back up again. Allen was about to yell at it, until he saw that it was weeping. A single sort of clearish-white tear came out of the slit at the tip and dribbled down its length sadly. This made the white haired boy feel quite bad for acting so childishly and he apologized fervently to it, and whispered comforting words to the poor little thing, telling it that it was quite helpful when he needed to relieve himself, thanking it for its continued service. When it continued to cry, he began to pat it, in the hopes of cheering it up, which only made it cry more, but damn did it feel good.

It sort of felt like there was pressure building up down there, and Allen thought he understood.

"Y-You're crying because of that pressure, aren't you?"

He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw it nod.

"Well, let me see if I can help."

He began to clumsily rub it again, beginning to pant as the tingling sensation grew stronger and the temperature seemed to increase. It felt as though the pressure was increasing, but he just couldn't seem to stop his hands, and he brokenly begged the little thing to bear with it just a bit longer, because he somehow knew that it would all be over soon.

He continued to rub, using both hands.

Through the haze of heat and pleasure, he distantly recognized that something was coming. He wasn't quite sure _what _it was, but he knew that he very desperately wanted to find out, and he quickened his pace.

After a few more seconds, he could no longer seem to control his legs or his vocal chords and the former began to shake, while the latter led him to release some breathy moans. This buildup was horrible torture, Allen distantly thought.

Still, he continued, praying to Neptune that he didn't hurt himself in the process. After just a few more moments, something inside him snapped, causing him to cry out. Overwhelming sensations washed over him, a huge rush of pleasure and warmth. Allen's whole body jerked upward and remained in the position for the better part of 30 seconds until he collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air.

It took a couple minutes for the white haired boy to pull himself together. Once he was able to think properly, he wondered what the _hell_ that was all about. Looking down, Allen noted with satisfaction that his little thingy had deflated and laid back down. However, there was something else there that hadn't been there before.

Allen examined the curious white substance, sniffed and subsequently wrinkled his nose. He decided right then and there that humans were just downright disgusting.

Being trapped in such a messy body was exceedingly troublesome.

**~0x0~**

After dashing to the bathroom to clean up (and vowing to figure out a different way to get the stupid little thing between his legs to behave), Allen went wandering.

He rejoiced in not having anyone to stop him.

He went down the hall, passed his and Link's room, passed the little sitting room that he met with the Bookman in (though the visits were less frequent now) and then he was in unfamiliar territory.

He walked for a while, until the hallway dead ended and spilled into another perpendicular hall. He wasn't really paying attention in from of him as he rounded the corner and ran right into something.

"Oh!" the sound was the came out of Allen's mouth was echoed from whatever he'd bumped into.

He fell backward onto his bottom.

"A-are you okay?"

Looking up, the grey-eyed boy saw a familiar face. It was the skinny, pale woman with the lovely dark hair.

"Yes, I'm okay." Allen answered, pushing himself up and standing once more.

"Oh, good. T-They sent me to make sure you were okay, since the Inspector is gone today. Why are you out of your room?"

"Hm? Oh. No one was around, so I went looking. I was worried." He lied.

"Oh...well, you shouldn't do that. Y-You could get lost..." the woman muttered.

_'Lies. I shouldn't do that because the Order can't keep track of its prisoner that way.'_

"Yeah." Allen pasted a big, easy grin on his face. "I think I am a bit lost. I'm glad I ran into you. It's nice to see you again, Miss..."

"Oh. Miranda. My name is Miranda Lotto."

"Hi Miranda. I'm Neah." He bowed slightly.

"Yes. Well...shall we go back?"

Allen decided to press his luck.

"Well, actually, I was wondering if we could go someplace else? I know that I'm supposed to stay up here, since I am still unfamiliar with everything, but I'd like to be able to see more. Maybe that would help me remember. I think talking to more people would help."

"Uh. I-I don't know..."

"Could we ask?"

Miranda hedged for a moment, looking as though she was contemplating running away. Finally, she sighed and took Allen's hand.

"Come with me." she said, and without waiting for a response, she began to drag him through the halls.

Miranda toted him through several hallways that Allen had trouble keeping track of until they came to the large central room with the glass roof. They walked on the platform and went up some stairs (Allen had a bit of difficulty with them, but he didn't fall) and went down yet another hallway. Eventually, they came upon a large set of double doors. Miranda pushed one open and pulled him though the small opening, letting the heavy door falls shut behind them.

Allen was in awe. Books! From floor to ceiling, piled on the many scattered tables, on chairs. He'd never thought that there would be this many. They were all different sizes and colors and thicknesses.

"Uhm...Bookman?" Miranda timidly called out.

The little old man walked out from behind a stack of books that was at least twice as tall as he was.

"Neah. What are you doing down here?" he asked, sending a very pointed look to the woman beside Allen. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I asked Miss Miranda to take me." Allen answered, feeling a bit defensive for the woman.

"I see." The old man continued to half glare at Miranda until he seemed to remember Allen's presence and put his friendly mask back on. "Why would you want to come down here? You can't read can you?"

"No, I can't. I just wanted to ask you something."

"And what is that?"

"I want to be able to go more places. I think talking to more people and seeing more things may help my memory."

"Hmm. Where, exactly, are you planning on going?"

Allen shrugged. "I dunno. I'm certainly not ready to leave the Order yet, but it would be nice to be able to walk around more..." The white haired boy let his sentence trail off nervously, hoping the innocent act would win him a bit more freedom.

"Perhaps...It would be better if you didn't go wondering around...not everyone in the building knows about you. Rather than that, why don't you start taking two hour breaks in the second Mess Hall every day?"

"Mess Hall?" Allen wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. He'd been messy enough that morning.

"Yes. You can take your lunch there."

Lunch. That was a word Allen recognized, and a subject he was quite adept at.

"Oh, okay."

"The Cafeteria is open all day, so there is no set time you have to be there, but we will send someone for you at about the right time. That will be a couple hours from now."

Allen grinned behind 'Neah's angelic smile.

**~0x0~**

Allen answered the knock at his door with much anticipation.

"Hello, Neah." Rohfa greeted him with a shy smile and a slight blush.

"Hi there." Allen gave her a genuine smile. She was nice, for a human.

"Ready?"

"Yes. I'm starving."

Together, they walked down the hall at a leisurely pace, and Allen was secretly happy that Rohfa had been the one to come get him. He liked Miranda well enough, but she tended to drag him around.

As they walked, he paid special attention to the route they took, determined to start memorizing his way around this place.

"So..." Rohfa began to speak, then trailed off, blushing even more than usual. Allen still hadn't quite figured out the strange need for useless conversation that humans seemed to suffer from. He had been relieved to find that Link wasn't like that, which was one of the few positive traits the man possessed.

"Uhm," She tried again, "I heard you are starting to take lunch in Cafe B because you think it might help your memory?"

Allen nodded and then posed a question of his own. "Cafe B?"

"Oh. It doesn't really have a formal name, it just happens to be the second Cafeteria reserved for certain Order members, so we call it Cafe B."

"I see...what kinds of people are allowed to go there?"

"Oh, typically just members that are more involved with the workings of the Order. It's better than the first Cafeteria, trust me." she nodded sagely, her braids bobbing a bit.

"Why is that?"

"Well, for one thing, everybody that goes there should at least be aware of your existence, and they won't pressure you...and then there's the chef. He makes some of the best food I've ever had."

Allen liked him already.

"Will there be a lot of people there?"

"At times. People tend to just come and go, and since you have a two hour break, you'll be there for a while. The crowd won't bother you, will it?"

Allen shook his head. "No, just wondering."

"Well, I'll be there with you the whole time, so if something bothers you, just tell me." Rohfa said earnestly.

"Thanks." Allen thought that it was kind of cute that she seemed to be under the impression that he had some sort of social phobia.

"Actually, there is something you can help me with." The girl perked up, glasses shining.

"I'm looking for a couple of people," Allen continued, trying very hard not to laugh. "Maybe you could help me find out if they go to lunch around this time."

"Oh. Who are you looking for?"

Allen cocked his head to the side, pondering how much information he could give her without making it seem like he really knew anyone here.

"Well, one of them was there the first day I came here. He had red hair and an eye patch."

"You mean Lavi. Why would you want to talk to him?"

"He said he knew me, or at least someone that looked like me. Maybe if I talk to him, I can find some clues about my past."

Briefly, Allen marveled at how easy it was to fall into the character of 'Neah'. Somehow, he was able to hide his true self completely behind this stranger that somehow felt so familiar. It was almost like there were two separate people in his head. Very, very odd.

"Neah?" Rohfa's voice shook him from his reverie.

"Huh?"

"I asked who the other person you are looking for is."

"Oh. Well, Bookman told me that the person who saved me when I was bleeding to death was named Kanda. I want to thank him."

"Ah. Yes, I can help you find him. Assuming he isn't away on a mission, he'll probably come in for some soba. Lavi will probably be there too. He's pretty sociable."

Allen nodded and thanked her.

They continued to walk and went downstairs at some point and came to yet another pair of Double doors, though these weren't nearly as fancy as the ones from before.

Rohfa put her hands against the door, then paused and turned to her white haired counterpart. "I should warn you-Kanda isn't very nice."

_'Tell me something I don't know.' _Allen internally grumbled.

But 'Neah' just nodded.

Rohfa smiled and pushed open the door. As soon as it was cracked, Allen found himself drooling. The smell coming out of this room was _heaven_.

Allen stepped in without asking, totally driven by the grumbling of his stomach. He followed his nose to the source of that wonderful smell and found himself at a counter with a window. But the window did not offer him a view of the outside. Rather, it looked in on what Allen assumed was the kitchen.

A dark skinned man with dark glasses and hair even stranger than Rohfa's swung into view.

"Weeeell, aren't you cute? Haven't seen you around before. You new?"

"Uh..." Allen responded intelligently.

"Hi, Jerry." Rohfa walked up from behind Allen and put her hand lightly on his arm.

"This is our guest, Neah. Neah, this," she gestured to the other man, "Is the Head Chef, Jerry."

"Nice to meet you." Allen nodded at him, doing his best to keep his mask in place. He was positively ravenous and the smell was driving him crazy.

"You look hungry, honey." Jerry said. "Tell me, what can I get you? I can make anything, so don't be shy."

20 minutes later, Allen was toting a gigantic tray of food to one of the many tables. He had very promptly decided that Jerry was his favorite human when the man had asked if he wanted anything else after the first five minute order and seemed to have been quite ecstatic when Allen had asked for more.

He dug in, only vaguely registering Rohfa's question about where he put it all.

After a few minutes of simply stuffing himself, Allen slowed down a bit and actually took in his surroundings. They were in a huge room, with dozens of long tables like the one he was currently sitting at. There was a long row of floor to ceiling windows on one side of the room, letting in plenty of light to see by, though there were fixtures on the wall for holding torches if necessary. There were only a couple people here and there taking an early lunch, but Allen had a feeling that they were watching him out of the corner of their eyes.

After a few minutes of slightly uncomfortable silence as Allen finished his meal and looked around, Rohfa tapped him on the shoulder.

"Neah. Look." She pointed over his shoulder.

And in walked Kanda. As with the first time he'd viewed this particular human, his first thought was, _'He's beautiful.'_

And he was. His hair was tied up and looked like it would be heavenly to run one's fingers through. His face was serious, all hard lines. He wore a simple white dress shirt along with black pants. Even though they shared some of the same serious disposition, Kanda didn't really remind Allen of Link. Where Link's clothes were completely formal and his movements stiff, Kanda's clothes were clearly worn for convenience and mobility, and the way he moved was fluid and graceful.

He looked fantastic.

Allen watched him as he walked, mesmerized, and slightly afraid. He knew that Kanda could kill him easily, should he discover his identity. Almost as soon as he walked through the door, there was a steaming bowl of something waiting for him on the counter. He took it and nonchalantly walked to a table and sat down by himself.

Allen swallowed hard.

_'Here goes nothing.'_

"I'm going to go thank him, Rohfa. I'll be right back." Allen told the girl as he stood up. She only gave him a slightly worried nod.

Slowly, deliberately, he trudged over to where the dark haired man was sitting. He really didn't want to speak with him, but deep inside, Allen knew that he had no choice. He needed to talk to the man, needed to find out why Kanda had saved him rather than let him die.

"Hello." Allen said, once he was near. All that earned him was a glare, but he wasn't going to give up so easily. "May I sit down?"

Kanda simply turned back to his food, and Allen took that as a yes.

The white haired boy sat down and smiled pleasantly.

"You're Kanda, correct?"

No response.

"Did you hear m-"

"Look." Kanda growled, sending Allen a glare that reminded him so much of his Master that it made his hair stand on end. "Leave me alone, and let me eat my soba in peace."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Allen said, trying not to let his agitation show. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'll just wait until you are done."

"You think I can eat with you breathing down my neck?"

"Oh, please, don't mind me."

The taller man rolled his eyes and began to angrily go at his food, using little sticks as his utensils. Allen thought that it would be a lot easier to just use a spoon or a fork, but he kept quiet about it.

Allen got the sense that the man sitting across from him was eating a bit faster than he normally would have, just so he could get away.

Eventually, he finished his food and immediately stood with his dishes. Briskly, the taller man walked, dumped his tray into a peculiar hole in the wall that seemed to lead toward the kitchen and walked out the doors. Allen bounded after him, ignoring Rohfa's startled call.

"Hey!" He called out to the dark haired man. Allen still wasn't particularly good at running (not like he had much room available to him for practice) but he managed to keep up all right. "Wait!" Allen reached out without thinking and made to grab at Kanda's sleeve. One moment, Kanda was right in front of him, and the next, Allen's fingers were closing around air.

Before he could really understand what was happening, Allen felt something hit him from one side then almost immediately after, felt something else slam up against his back and completely stop all movement. He gritted his teeth against the pain and closed his eyes, waiting for his ears to stop ringing before opening them again.

He found himself being held up against the wall by a very strong arm. Following the arm, his sight collided with two very dark, very hard eyes. The image before him was no longer that of a man, but of a god. Flowing hair seemed to swirl about him. The air around Kanda froze in terrified reverence. Fury blazed in black twin orbs, and there was nothing else. Nothing behind that simple, primal emotion, nothing further to unravel. Everyone Allen had ever met came with layers. He considered himself pretty adept at reading people and he'd found over the years that there were always other emotions swimming at the bottom of people's eyes, always something hidden behind the obvious. But that wasn't the case here. There was no hesitation, no crack in conviction. Just a simple, bestial fire.

That fucking terrified Allen in a way he'd never experienced before.

At the same time, it captivated him.

The white haired boy swallowed, unable to speak.

"Stay. Away. From. Me." The other man ground out.

"I-I just wanted to thank you from saving me." Allen managed, released from the spell he seemed to have been put under.

The expression in those fiercely beautiful eyes shifted, from pure rage to pure apathy.

He dropped Allen.

"Don't mention it."

Without another word, the man walked away, leaving Allen huddled up against the wall until Rohfa came to get him.

As she ushered him back to the cafeteria, apologizing profusely for something that wasn't her fault, 'Neah' smiled and told her it was no big deal. But Allen could focus on nothing but the image of a dark haired deity that was burned into his mind.

_'I never knew that humans could have that kind of presence...'_

**~0x0~**

To My Reviewers:

Dawnfoot- It wasn't either a mistake, or my misunderstanding...it was the wrong hand to use, because Lavi doesn't shake properly and he offered his left hand.

XxkogainugamixX- Link/Allen is always a fun time, eh? I'm really happy you like how I portray Allen.

vinecaper- I would get tired of writing nothing but drama. Fun is important too.

Miso Ramen-sama- Thanks for pointing out the typo. I fixed it. His short hair is super cute, isn't it?

Conrii- If you look up 'Allen Walker tattoo' on Google, you should be able to find a picture. In the manga, it wasn't really a tattoo, just the dormant form of his innocence.

Total Amuto- I KNOW, RIGHT? LOL, ALLEN DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PAPER-YOU MUST READ!

Tintaglia In Flight- Link is a bit of a creeper sometimes. But I luffs him anyway.

Felnore- Link is good at making pastries, good at hair dressing...jeesh, could he be any more metro?

Shadow Storyteller- More Yullen than Laven? Hmmm...no. I really want to balance out all the relationship stuff. I'm going to focus mostly on Kanda for a while, but eventually, it will even out.

Jasper-Jazz- *points up* There's Kanda! Just for you!

Hinata's Shadow1- Awww...send me links to your cosplay, if you have any! I miss going to Cons...*sigh*

ivory-fanged-goddess- *Link noms Cookie* Allen's hair was to the middle of his back. Mermaids are always about 5-8 inches longer (and thus, taller) than they would be as humans.

scrletfyre- Hehe, Link is just really good at his job.

kurazilssia- Hello, loves! I'm glad you all seem to like the chapter. Did you have a happy Halloween? I don't eat sea food, so I've never had any orange sushi. *pets Razill*

LizluvsSpongebob- Link still has emotions, he's just emotionally constipated, so sometimes he has a hard time pushing them out. XD


	16. Chapter 16: Allen

Oh dear God. I was trying really hard to get the next chapter of my other fic out and it totally stalled this one, then I went and Homestuck'd, then Christmas...sorry about that guys. FML. **DeatheStar** asked a question, and I guess I haven't answered it really well, so I'll respond to that that review up here. The question was about the seme/uke order, so let me lay it all down. Any situations where I decide to switch things up for fun notwithstanding, Lavi is in the middle of the boysmut sandwich. Kanda's top bread, and Allen is bottom bread. If we put it into a boysmut equation, assuming that the first factor's dominance continues down the line for all subsequent factors, it would look like this in shorthand: _Kanda(greater than)Lavi(greater than)Allen_. Or, in longhand: _(Kanda penis into: Lavi) is greater than the subsequent value of (Lavi penis into: Allen)_. Alternately, _Kanda is seme to Lavi, Kanda is seme to Allen, Lavi is seme to Allen, Allen gets it up the butt a lot. _Hope that helps. It's just hard to write all that stuff out in the summary.

Speaking of summaries- Can anybody think of something better than mine? I don't think it properly conveys what I'm writing...it sounds too Little Mermaid-ish. It kinda sucks. The character limit is just god-awful.

I also have to give a shout out to **NightshadeTwiningThe Rosary **and **River Flows Backwards! **I adore all my readers, but you guys are the ones who showed me that you are thinking beyond the given plot. You asked questions and made theories, which is exactly what I wanted my readers to do, and also why I have left out so much critical detail. It's so hard to write from the POV of someone who is undoubtedly a total dumbass, but doesn't actually _think _like a dumbass. It takes more planning and padding around issues than I am used to. Thank you for being awesome. Ohhhh godd...this story is going to be so long. SO. LONG. And my FMA AU Highschool thing is SO. LONG. And I am SO. SLOW. *whimpers at the thought of writing the same two stories till age 30*

Lastly, a little hint for you. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but Neah is _not _Allen. Allen and Kanda fight and probably want to get in each others pants. Allen and Lavi have a sort of luke-warm friendship/attraction thing going on. Neah and Kanda/Lavi don't. That's an important fact to keep in mind. I'm also building my own Neah as I go, since most aspects about that character have not been revealed by Hoshino yet, so he'll probably be really OOC. Then again, I think my Allen tends to lean toward a Black Allen OOC with a personality disorder, but everyone says he's in character, so I'll just keep him that way.

* * *

><p>Allen was restless.<p>

He'd already spent almost two weeks here, and he was no closer to finding a solution to any of his problems.

He'd been sort of hinging his immediate future on Lavi's intervention, but he still hadn't seen the man. Miranda had told him that Lavi was away on a mission and that nobody had any idea when he would be back. This had led to Allen asking exactly what missions from the Black Order entailed, which had lead to a bunch of stammering and an awkward silence, which had led to Link telling the white haired boy to mind his own business. Which was not helpful in the least.

Allen was starting to wonder exactly what it was that these people did.

However, his musings on that took a back seat to his musings on a certain dark haired swordsman.

The merman with legs had taken to watching Kanda during his lunch period. He observed the man out of the corners of his eyes, still a bit too unnerved by their last encounter to try to initiate conversation again. The dark haired man came in at about the same time every day, his customary scowl in place. He would get his noodle-dish, sit down, eat, leave. No conversation with anyone. It seemed sort of lonely.

Day by day, Allen moved closer to Kanda. First it was three tables away, then two. Finally, Allen moved to the table adjacent to the one the Japanese man always used, making sure to situate himself so that he would be able to watch Kanda without anyone noticing.

Then again, there weren't loads of people in here anyway. There were a scattered few that ate their lunch in little clusters beyond his own, and Allen was absolutely convinced that they were watching him. Observing his movements, trying to detect any hint of a lie. However, 'Neah' knew nothing about this, and was enjoying every day.

Allen was really beginning to get scared at just how well his mask fit. It was almost like there really was another established personality within him sometimes.

No one saw through it. Even Link had started to let his guard down.

The Inspector had started taking his lunch with Allen and Rohfa as soon as he was able, and Allen found that with each passing day, he was loosening up, his posture a bit less stiff. He'd even started letting the white haired boy go to the bathroom on his own, though he did impose a time limit (which Allen thought was absolutely ridiculous). Neah had him completely fooled.

Even the overly skittish Miranda seemed comfortable enough around the hapless youth to come eat her meals with him, when she had the time.

All in all, Allen was getting more used to the world around him, falling farther and farther behind the mask he wore. Now that he was more or less settled in, and didn't feel like there was an overt amount of suspicion being thrown his way, he allowed his mind to wander. While Neah chatted with his new friends, Allen sat in contemplation of recent events.

It was hard to believe the strange twists that his journey had taken him on. He honestly couldn't figure out a way to get out of this mess. His people needed him to mate. But he couldn't kill. He couldn't go back without letting his mating magic run dry so he could get his fins back. This was a problem, because he needed to be in the ocean to be able to use any form of magic, and he didn't think that there was any convenient body of salt water nearby. What would he use it for anyway? That particular kind of energy didn't seem to respond to anything besides a mating ritual. Allen supposed that he could just let his reproduction cycle run its course and hope for the best. But that would take a whole _year_. Funny how that very insignificant amount of time suddenly seemed so large.

He also felt a bit bad for being so selfish. He couldn't find it in him to regret not killing the humans that had been selected for culling, but he knew that his people needed children badly. Unfortunately, Allen was not practiced in the bigger, more ancient forms of magic, and he was positive that he would never be able to come up with another way to produce offspring in time. At least, not without help.

The white haired youth decided that his first steps should be finding Lavi and trying to figure out how to get to the nearest ocean. He knew he couldn't afford to wait, or he'd risk his mating cycle running out while he was on land.

He would figure out what to do about not having any children when the time came.

A few days after Allen had moved as close to Kanda as he dared, someone new showed up in the cafeteria.

The newcomer was certainly strange looking, even compared to all the odd things that the merman had seen since coming to the surface.

He was abnormally tall, and thin. He stood ramrod straight, making his already bony appearance razor sharp. His hair was mostly black and spiky, but he had one odd stripe of white that fell over his face. Even his clothes were a bit off.

The stranger walked right over to their table, responding to Miranda's small wave and Rohfa's smile with a nod.

"Y-You're back. How did it go?" Miranda asked.

"Fine," The stranger responded in a surprisingly wobbly baritone.

Abruptly, the man turned toward Allen.

"Salutations. My name is Arystar Krory III."

Allen blinked a couple times, expecting him to go on. After a moment or two, he realized that, while this person had certainly begun the right way, he couldn't possibly have known of the greetings made in Oldspeach, and that he was probably done and awaiting a reply.

"Oh, uh, hello. My name is Neah."

Allen held out his hand, and Krory shook it, reminding the boy of his time with Lavi which made him smile a little more genuinely.

"Ah. I have heard much about you. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Neah grinned. This guy was strange and awkward, just as he had been (and probably still was, from a normal person's point of view). He sort of liked him. Allen, however, didn't quite trust this guy. He was really beginning to wonder what this ominous entity known as The Order did with all these strange, but surprisingly genuine people. He was starting to suspect that some of them were just as good at acting as he was.

"Would you like to have lunch with us?" Neah offered.

The taller man nodded and moved to sit next to Miranda.

"I haven't seen you around here before...were you away on one those mission things?" Neah asked.

Allen observed just the slightest flash of _something _in his eyes that told him he was right and that this person didn't want him to know something.

_'So this one has been sworn to secrecy like the others. I wonder how much he can say...'_

To his credit, Krory covered it up fast.

"Indeed," He began, "Even though it involves work, I find that traveling with friends is always a good experience."

"Speaking of friends," Link interrupted. "Where is Bookman Junior? He was supposed to be with you."

"Yes, he was. He's making a report. He'll be ready to help the Bookman with his work by this evening."

The Inspector nodded, apparently satisfied with this.

"Bookman Junior?" Neah questioned, confused.

"It's the Bookman's apprentice's title. He's the one you were asking about earlier. Lavi, remember?" Rohfa added, apparently not catching the sharp look the inspector gave her.

"Oh! The man that talked to me some on that first day. Yes, I remember." Neah said, with a smile.

Inside, a spark of something Allen couldn't quite identify burst to life. He desperately wanted to speak to his friend, not only to have help in figuring all this out, but just to see him again. He'd become oddly attached to the redhead in their time together.

"Is there any chance of me being able to talk to him? He seemed to know something about the merman that did this to me." Neah continued.

"You can't go bothering people while they're working." Link said.

Allen snarled in frustration, but Neah went with a small pout.

"But I want to talk to him! I want to find out more about why this happened to me..." Allen made 'Neah' trail off waveringly, hoping to make the Inspector feel bad.

The man just rolled his eyes.

"Maybe he'll come in for lunch. You can speak to him then..." Neah looked toward Miranda and smiled.

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

But, as time wore on, it became obvious that he wasn't coming. For once, Allen and Neah both felt the same thing: disappointment. But Neah just shrugged it off and jumped into conversation with his friends, leaving Allen to stew.

The merman wanted to see the only human he _actually _considered a friend.

* * *

><p>The next day, Allen was beside himself with his need to speak to 'Bookman Junior'.<p>

He was on edge all day, just barely keeping his mask in place. He had the feeling that Link sensed something was off, but the Inspector didn't say anything about it.

At lunch, Allen couldn't keep his eyes from roaming the cafeteria, nearly wincing at the pang of disappointment when he didn't see that tell-tale head of red hair.

He ate his massive amount of food, chuckling when he Krory came to the table with quite a bit himself. Eventually, Miranda showed up, Rohfa in tow. The small group chatted, and Allen found that Neah was easily blending into this rag tag social group.

Just as Allen was about to give up on Lavi coming in, the doors opened, drawing his attention.

For a moment, his mind went totally blank, registering the familiar bandana and eye patch before short circuiting.

Then the man began to walk toward Allen's table, and his brain switched back on, his palms becoming a bit clammy, and his heart hammering in his chest.

_'LaviLaviLavi! Finally!'_

The redhead drew closer and closer until he was finally a mere arm's length away, then he walked right past the merman without so much as a second glance. He waltzed over to Kanda's table and plopped down, and began to talk to the swordsman.

Allen felt oddly snubbed by this, but he shook it off.

_'I wonder why Kanda hasn't tried to eviscerate him yet. Maybe they're actually good friends?'_

"Neah?"

His head snapped to his left at the sound of his name, a small shard of icy panic going through him once he realized _that wasn't really his name_.

Allen smothered the reaction quickly and scolded himself for being so overly emotional.

"Yeah?"

Rohfa looked at him worriedly. "We lost you there for a minute."

"Mmhmm. Sorry, I guess I spaced out there."

She gave him an uncertain smile, which he returned, grateful for her easily accepting personality.

For a few minutes, the chatter returned to normal, with Allen keeping an eye on Lavi and distantly wondering how these people kept finding things to talk about, when he knew they were all censoring their words around him.

Once a passable amount of time (or what Allen's impatience deemed passable) had elapsed, Allen excused himself to go ask a couple questions, ignoring Link's stern gaze.

Shakily, he stood. He walked the short distance between tables, reestablishing his mask, hoping he could keep it in place. He had to convince Lavi to meet him in private, so they could talk freely.

"Uh, excuse me?" Allen began, interrupting whatever they had been talking about.

The two men turned toward him, and suddenly, Allen was reminded of the time he'd first laid eyes on them, in Neptune's Pearl. Once they had both registered exactly who was speaking, Kanda's eyes flared with something that was almost rage, and Lavi's eye became flat and cold. This struck Allen as strange. Normally, Kanda gave the impression of being the icy, detached one, and Lavi was of the warmer variety, but their eyes were showing the exact opposite. The juxtaposition would have been funny to the white haired boy, if it hadn't made him so uncomfortable.

"Uh...I just had a couple questions...I-Is this a bad time?" Neah asked.

"It sure as hell is."

"Not really."

The merman blinked when they both responded at the same time. Lavi just shook his head and reiterated his response, ignoring the low growl that Kanda let out.

The white haired boy tentatively sat down next to the redhead, and proceeded to have two conversations.

"You're Lavi, right?" Neah asked, lips forming the most important question at the moment.

_'Lavi! It's me!' _Allen shouted in his mind, trying to convey his real thoughts through his eyes.

"Yes, I am. Is there something you need?" Lavi's visible eye were still deadly still, and his voice was hollow.

"Oh, I was just wondering..."

_'Lavi, please. I really need you right now.'_

But Neah just continued on, unaffected by Allen's internal begging.

"They tell me you had communicated with the creature that took my memories. Could you tell me more about it?"

_Something _flared in emerald depths, bright and powerful. Almost as soon as Allen saw it, it was snuffed out, leaving that eye cold and dark.

"There's not much to say. That thing was a _monster_."

For a moment, all Allen could do blink in shock. Then the pain set in.

That one word hurt far more than he would've ever imagined.

Allen panicked. The hurt left him reeling, unable to react. In desperation, he gave in and let Neah take over completely, pulling the fake persona about like like a suit of armor, using the familiar stranger to hide his pain.

For a while, Allen cowered in the corner of his mind, unaware of anything but the revulsion in Lavi's words, wondering how a human could hurt him so much.

_'What will I do now?' _He thought brokenly.

When Allen next came into awareness of his surroundings, he was talking to Link. He wondered how that had happened and decided that it didn't matter.

"-and that's kind of stupid anyway," The Inspector continued with whatever he'd been talking about until he seemed to notice something was off. "Neah? Are you all right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm just...going to run and use the restroom real quick, eh?"

The Inspector raised an eyebrow, but nodded, looking rather sympathetic. Allen was suddenly rather thankful for the strange bouts of digestive problems that humans tended to get, as they offered a great excuse for time alone.

He headed out of the room blindly, not having any particular destination, other than away from everyone else. Smirking slightly, Allen realized that Rohfa's imagined social phobia that she'd assigned to him might have been coming to fruition.

About ten feet from the cafeteria, Allen simply ran out of steam and slumped against a wall, sidling down to sit on the floor. He put his head against his knees and tried very hard to not think about anything for a couple minutes. He was glad that there was nobody out here. He didn't want to deal with 'Neah' right now.

It wasn't long before Allen heard the door open.

Wearily, he looked up, expecting Link or Rohfa to have come looking for him. Instead, his eyes alighted on silken black hair and pale skin.

Kanda.

A few seconds passed, the two of them simply staring at each other, neither moving or showing an overt amount of emotion. For Allen, the silence was comfortable, a needed pause where he could admire the man as himself before dredging up the strength to call upon his human persona.

Neah smiled, wearily. "I'm sorry for chasing you the other day. I went a little overboard."

The swordsman snorted unattractively and rolled his eyes.

"Che. Baka Moyashi."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's Japanese for 'Stupid Beansprout', moron."

"I beg your pardon?" Allen stood, a bit miffed. Perhaps it was due to all the emotional turmoil he'd experienced today, but he let his mask slip a bit in defiance and didn't really care.

"I'm not stupid. And I'm not a sprout."

"Whatever. Stop being so fake and formal. It's annoying."

"Well, excuse me for being polite." Allen sneered, fed up with the taller man's attitude.

Kanda barked out a short, sharp laugh. "Well, it seems there _is_ some fight in you. Come find me if you ever want to get your ass kicked."

And with that dubious invitation, he walked away, leaving Allen fuming, but oddly relieved.

He'd had an argument-a far cry from a real conversation, but still-as himself. The first in two weeks. And had felt good to be able to get angry and not have to keep himself in check. He knew Kanda expected nothing of him.

Allen began to seriously consider taking the other man up on his offer, if only to release his frustration.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>I don't like Japanese used in English fanfiction except under very certain circumstances, which I felt fit the situation here, so I hope you will have the brief language swap forgivable. I'm sort of basing Neah on the earliest versions of Allen in the manga, where he was all stiff and polite.

To My Reviewers:

AzureBlue98- All night? Wow. Well, I hope you get some sleep, and thanks for the review!

sammi117- I'm really glad you like it.

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- I haven't quite decided if there will be Noah or not. Road holds a special place in my heart, so maybe just her and Tyki? I dunno. I'm the kind that never really has a story planned out once I start writing it.

Fireotaku18- Glad you are enjoying it!

NightshadeTwiningTheRosary- Heh. You are the only person to do exactly what I wanted you to do. (Which probably reflects horribly on me as an author.) I wanted all of my lovelies to ASK QUESTIONS! A story that makes you think about things is the best kind, don't you think? Anyway. You aren't being picky. That's the reaction I was hoping for. I'll address a couple of your concerns here. Firstly, rest assured that those details have not been overlooked. I've been leaving them out on purpose. Well, except for the walking thing. Most mermaid stories don't even really address that at all, so I wanted to make sure to put some of that in, but I didn't want to take months and months about it. This story is slow enough without bogging it down with subliminal details, and I really didn't feel like dealing with it. Sorry for that I guess, but I want to get to the good stuff to you know! Unfortunately, my exuberance must be tempered by the reality I have created in my head. Yullen is slow. Steamy bits with dumb mermen and dumber Japanese dudes is horrendously slow. For the story to progress this far, Allen has just had to stay isolated and do a lot of fact churning, in order for me to not overlook other, more important things (like discovering his penis). It will get here. Patience. As for your other things-I can't give you any spoilers, but I will apologize for Allen's retardedness. Only writing from one POV at a time, and not working from omniscience means that I have to omit things to stay in character. I can only reveal things as fast as Allen thinks about them. He just hasn't had the time. Well, and some other stuff, but you will find out about THAT clusterfuck soon enough. ;) Thanks again for being wonderful and actually having the balls to do a real critique. It makes me feel like I am writing something worthwhile. Hopefully, this chapter assuaged some of your curiosity and desires.

anicraze009- One of your favorites? Wow! Thanks!

JustHappenedToBeHere- Allen with long hair is damn sexy.

Tintaglia In Flight- Creeper Link is always a good time. And I thought it was pretty fucking funny too.

violindreamer- Silly masturbating merman. XD

Kurazilssia- I rabu yew! *cuddles you all* Thank you for your reviews. They are soooo cute, and they always make me smile. *glomps Razill and nuzzles the crap out of her*

vinecaper- Yes, the more love the better. *hug*

blackirishawk- Yeah, I was really getting sick of the generic mermaid thing, so I decided to beat the fuck out of that stereotype and take a fully functional love triangle on for size too. I guess I'm ambitious.

Silvermanel- Thanks.

moshimellow- Because he is an ass. A hot one. XD

xx-Yuu-Chan-xx- I love you for reviewing!

Miso Ramen-sama- Lol, I hope you didn't laugh too loud. Allen is perfectly correct in speaking with his genitalia. I talk to my mangina all the time. XD

River Flows Backwards- I love your long reviews. They make my day. About his hair-yeah, I know, for us it works that way. But merpeople have constant exposure to salt water and have evolved to adapt to it over hundreds of years, so I assume that their hair texture prevents tangling. Or something. Glad you liked the touchy scene. I had a great time writing it. As for your theory, I won't confirm or deny it, but I think it's great that you are contemplating these things. *BIGMANLYHUG*

scrletfyre- I hope they kiss soon...I dunno, I'm not really in control of my muse.

EXO718- Morning wood is awkward. Especially the first time.

Kayday- I have no idea what it was, but when I read your review, I spit all over the screen I was laughing so hard. 'Shh, Shh, Allen's dick, It's okay.' I just-I love you. Haha. Kanda is not a softy squish like Lavi.

JayPay- Kanda is really hot. I luffs him.

yurithefurry- I'm attracted to Kanda, and I'm the author. XD

TotalAmuto- I LOVE RESPONDING TO YOUR REVIEWS, BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE YELLING AT EACH OTHER LOVINGLY FROM ACROSS A ROOM.

Conrii- Hehe.

Oaken Wren- You caught that, eh? XD Glad you thought it was funny. I like awkward, imperfect sex-type scenes.

LizluvsSpongebob- His 'thingy' is a source of constant entertainment for me.

wooooooooooooxj- I am hypocritical. I don't mean to bash but it's really frustrating when I try so hard and I see these other authors that don't even bother using spell check. I don't get everything right, and I never will, I just...wish people would at least try to show they care. It makes me sad.

Felnore- Aww. I'm glad you enjoyed his odd little device, I know I did.

Hinata's Shadow1- You cosplay is adorable. ^_^

sweetkakes35- Wow, thank you so much for your praise. Allen's cute, no?

ivory-fanged-goddess- Kanda is a little bi-polar sometimes.


	17. Chapter 17: Kanda

**THE PERSON TO GIVE MY MY 300th REVIEW WILL BE MY FRIEND FOREVER.**

I made this from Kanda's POV because reasons. I think the next couple chapters are going to be more slow relationship building, then we will get back to the plot. This is one of my first real forays into combat writing, so if anybody has any tips to help me improve on that, it would be much appreciated. Unfortunately, I know nothing about swords or martial arts, so I'm kinda writing out my ass here.

Everybody felt bad for Allen last chapter, but nobody feels bad for Lavi? I mean, there has to be some reason he was being a dickface, right? Writing this story makes me sad, sometimes. I have to remind myself that Kanda and Lenalee don't have their special relationship here and that none of the humans can adore Komui. It's weird to think of Reever and Johnny without the Eldest Lee, isn't it?

Wow, I'm super surprised that nobody has really gotten the Neah thing yet. It seems obvious, but maybe that's because I'm the one who thought it up, eh? Unfortunately for you guys, I think it will be quite a while before I fully reveal that, because I have an idea of what I want to do, but no idea of how to fit it into the story. But at least I'm trying, to fit it in, right? *points at chapter 13* T^T I am horrible at plotting out stories. I never have them all the way finished or even generally planned out before I start writing them. Also, another hint-A couple of people asked why Allen hasn't been pining over the ocean, like he did when he was on the ship. It should be obvious, but there is a very pointed, specific difference in the circumstances. Allen himself will come to realize all these things himself soon, so I'll be able to explain it in more detail later. Probably. I should start making a list of stuff to cover in the story...

And yes, they have showers. There's no clear source of when showers were actually invented and by whom, but it goes back far enough that I feel fine including a rudimentary one in this story.

PS- Did you notice my spiffy new LINE BREAKS? I'm a bit phobic of them, because they tend to get messed up, but I think I will stick with them for now.

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><p>The forest clearing was quiet and tranquil.<p>

_Downward slash. Parry._

It was easy to slip into a trance in this environment. Easy to clear the mind of everything material and just be.

_Forward Thrust. Block._

There was no awareness of time passing, just simple movement and the pleasant burn of muscles being used.

_Thrust. Parry. Slash. Block._

The sword was merely an extension of the arm which was an extension of the body. Feet moved almost by themselves, flesh twisting and steel flashing in a dangerous dance that only one person knew the steps to.

_Thrust, slash, slash, spin, block, parry, thrust._

Faster and faster the blade whirled, slicing through unseen enemies, splitting the air around it.

_Spin, slash, block, backspin, thrust, parry, side slash, flat thrust, lungespinparry-_

"Kanda!"

The serenity shattered, the spell broken by a voice form the outside.

The Japanese man finished half spin that he'd started, letting his body run out of momentum, rather than trying to ground to a halt. He turned toward the source of distraction, breathing heavily, but his eyes were calm.

Kanda raised an eyebrow at the newcomer.

"What do you want, Lavi?"

"You." The red head said, face completely serious.

Dark hair remained plastered to a sweaty, pale forehead as Kanda rolled his eyes.

"Flattering." Kanda deadpanned, having long ago gotten used to his friend's stupid jokes.

The typical grin came out in full force and Lavi laughed.

The swordsman had to admit that Lavi was...pretty, when he wasn't wearing that fake smile that Kanda loathed so much.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face, retard."

Lavi stuck out his tongue.

Shaking his head, Kanda continued. "Why are you really here?"

"No real reason. Just wanted some company."

"You wanted to get away from your studies, eh?"

The red head gave him a sheepish smile. "Caught me."

Kanda sighed and went to retrieve his sheath and the shirt he'd discarded under a nearby tree, knowing there was no point in trying to continue. He didn't mind too much, though. It was decent having him back from his rather short mission. Gave Kanda something to distract himself with while awaiting his inevitable next set of orders.

He slid the shirt on, not bothering to button it up. Briskly, he walked out of the clearing, heading out of the small forest that surrounded the Order and through an inconspicuous side door. He didn't even bother checking to see if the red head was following as he marched toward the communal showers-he knew that Lavi would wait around for him to get clean.

The companionship sort of made him sick to his stomach, but, as always, he couldn't quite bring himself to put a stop to it. So, he just ignored it, and pushed all thoughts of what that could possibly mean to the back of his mind.

He showered quickly, silently, secretly pleased when he walked out of the stall to find Lavi waiting for him, a new set of clothes in hand. Somehow, Kanda always forgot to bring a spare set.

Again, he was struck by how often this must've happened over the past couple of years for Lavi to know that. And again, he told his internal voice to take a goddamn hike.

He changed, not worrying about his brief nudity. Not like Lavi hadn't already seen it all anyway.

"Wanna go grab a bite to eat?" The other man offered easily.

Kanda just nodded in response, busying himself with tying his hair back.

"Alright. Let me check in with the Old Man, let him know that I'm taking a break and I'll meet you in the Cafeteria."

"You're already taking a break, lazy dipshit."

Lavi just smiled mischievously, his visible eye curving up a bit. He waved jauntily and sauntered out of the bathroom.

Kanda shook his head and exited as well, only pausing to drop off his laundry before going down to get his food.

His soba was ready for him and his table completely empty, as per usual. He growled to himself in disgust as he passed the table that the stupid white headed kid sat at, annoyed that his ever-growing group of loud idiots had somehow migrated closer and closer to his spot. He'd caught the kid staring at him from time to time after their first encounter. The Japanese man figured it was because he'd scared the snot out of the boy, but he was starting to get fed up with it.

The swordsman sat and proceeded to eat, perhaps just a touch slower than normal. This didn't have anything with waiting up to eat with Lavi. Probably.

Eventually, Lavi did come, breezing in without even getting anything to eat and sitting down beside Kanda.

He proceeded to babble on about some of the 'cool' things that he'd seen on his mission, but Kanda just tuned him out. One of the reasons he tolerated Lavi more than most was that he was surprisingly easy to not pay attention to, while still conveying his intended general meaning. As a few minutes passed, Kanda noticed something a bit off about the red head and ignored him a little less to try and figure out what was up. He was grinning and gesturing with his hands as always, talking about how nice France was at this time of year or something, but he seemed distracted. Kanda thought he understood why-the man was pointedly facing _away _from a certain table.

Maybe the kid bothered him more than he'd let on? He had seemed a bit shaken that day Kanda had found the merman-look-alike.

"I don't like him either." The dark haired man stated simply, interrupting Lavi's speech about the weather.

"Huh?"

"That kid. I don't like him either." Kanda reiterated.

Lavi's eyes darkened a bit. "What makes you think I don't like him?"

The response was a simple arching of an elegant black eyebrow.

Lavi sighed. "He just...makes me a bit nervous, that's all. I'm surprised you're not more on edge around him, actually." His tone lowered, words becoming whispers as he spoke.

"I don't really care. He's just an obnoxious brat."

Lavi smiled a bit, a real smile.

"I like that about you...you're not bothered by anybody." He said softly, a twinkle in his eye.

Kanda just looked as him funny.

"Lavi...don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like...never mind. Just stop."

"Yuu, you don't have to get so defensive. We both know that neither of us wants a commitment. I'm still allowed to like you though."

"What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?" The red head rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Lavi, you're acting like-"

"Uh, excuse me?" a voice from off to the side interrupted him, close enough and loud enough for Kanda to register that he was being directly addressed by someone. Turning, all he saw was a white head of hair.

For some reason, that made his blood boil. It was the stupid kid, the one who'd made Lavi all pensive. _Fuck_, if he wasn't tired of all the nonsense he'd had to put up with because of this interloper. It made him regret saving the boy.

"Uh...I just had a couple questions...I-Is this a bad time?" The brat stuttered out his annoying formalities, not realizing that he was only making it worse.

"It sure as hell is."

"Not really."

Kanda didn't even blink when he and his friend answered at the same time.

"It's fine." Lavi said, eliciting a low growl from the Japanese man. He huffed and turned away as the kid sat down, intent on ignoring them both.

Only it didn't work out that way.

"You're Lavi, right?"

_Be quiet._

"Oh, I was just wondering..."

_Shut up._

"They tell me you had communicated with the creature that took my memories. Could you tell me more about it?"

_Shut the hell up._

For some reason, Lavi's words slipped by him as usual, but the kid's penetrated his brain. He cringed as the little moron excused himself, cursing softly.

For a few moments he sat and let his anger simmer, trying to reign himself in.

When Kanda felt as though he had a better hold on himself, he let down his internal barriers that drowned out Lavi and spoke.

"So," he grit out. He unclenched his jaw and tried again. "So, what were we talking about?"

"Nothing."

The tone caused Kanda to look over.

The usual bright emerald color of his eyes had faded into a dull grey-green, and there was no trace of a smile on his face.

Judging by this reaction, Kanda guessed that Lavi's earlier mushy semi-confession was made in order to move the conversation away from the white haired boy. Seeing his words for what they were now, he was a bit perturbed.

_'That damn kid. He's really throwing Lavi off.'_

Normally, the Japanese man didn't mind silence. In fact, he preferred it. But, for once the idiot was being quiet and it was actually starting to bother Kanda.

Fortunately, he didn't give two shits about being polite, so he just stood up without saying a word and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving his forgotten food on the table.

Of course, fate hated him, so he shouldn't have been surprised when he ran into the source of his recent problems.

There he was, looking like a pitiful loser, huddled up on the floor.

_'Please. Like some brat with no memories and no responsibilities has any reason to be looking like that.'_

He looked up, staying silent for a moment, and Kanda took the opportunity to take stock of the kid.

His oddly shaped cut was faring nicely, still a rather bright red, but it was beginning to heal into scar tissue around the edges. His white hair was still retarded looking and garish, even though there seemed to be less of it now.

The kid was weird and girlish looking. Pathetic.

He smiled that annoying, formal smile.

"I'm sorry for chasing you the other day. I went a little overboard."

Kanda snorted, finding his apology a bit underwhelming. This kid was such a short little idiot. Such a...

"Che. Baka Moyashi."

"I'm sorry?" He looked confused, and the swordsman realized that he'd spoken in his native language.

"It's Japanese for 'Stupid Beansprout', moron."

"I beg your pardon?" The 'Beansprout' stood, looking a little pissed.

"I'm not stupid. And I'm not a sprout."

"Whatever. Stop being so fake and formal. It's annoying."

"Well, excuse me for being polite." The brat practically snarled, the first showing of true emotions that Kanda had seen from him.

The dark haired man released a humorless laugh. "Well, it seems there _is_ some fight in you. Come find me if you ever want to get your ass kicked."

And with that, he walked away, half hoping 'Moyashi' would come find him.

The kid needed a good beating.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

Hanashi no iu- Wow, thanks!

xx-Yu-Chan-xx- Well, I won't make you 'wheat' any longer, then!

DPchick- Thanks!

RBO- You should be worried about that. Unfortunately, I felt the need to expand upon Kanda and Lavi a bit, before we got to any fights. Sowwy.

Hinata's Shadow1- Writer's block is the worst, isn't it? Ugh, this chapter was hard for me to get out. I guess my eariler gusto with this story is gone. Fortunately, I still love to write it. ^_^

Tintaglia In Flight- I actually DO have a specific reason for making Neah more than a mask. But I won't tell you!~ I'm planning on Allen and Lavi talking mono-a-mono pretty soon. Allen won't change back into a merman just by coming into contact with the sea, he has to use up his mating magic before that happens. As for your last questions...I haven't quite decided, tbh. This story kinda writes itself.

Oaken Wren- Yeah, I really wanted to show that Lavi does have a deeper side. He's not a moron, that's mostly an act. I-I'm fabulous? *blushu*

scrletfyre- Allen will get to it, I'm sure. Never fear, I will make sure they hook up. (Mostly because we can't get to the smut without that happening.)

wierdsquirrelgirl- Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Conrii- We know that, but they are all too stupid to see it right now.

Krystal Nite- Lavi's only an uke with Kanda, because Kanda refuses to bottom. He doesn't like being submissive.

TotalAmuto- FROM NOW ON, I DECLARE THAT OUR ALL CAPS LOVE SHALL BE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE NET! AND DON'T FEEL BAD FOR ALLEN, HE'S HOT AND WILL EVENTUALLY SLEEP WITH TWO HOT GUYS. WHAT'S TO FEEL BAD ABOUT?

Kurazilssia- When I write your names like that, it reminds me of some sort of adorable Godzilla. Lavi's just kind of a moody guy right now, I guess. asdjkf, RAZILL. YOU ARE MAI BABY FOREVER. YOU WILL NEVER BE UN-CUDDLED. FROM NOW ON YOU ARE IN A PERMANENT STATE OF CUDDLEDOM. All of you are. Like...my favorite reviewers. I feel fuzzy inside.

blackirishawk- I'm glad you got into it! I'm glad you like my version of Lavi. He's my babu, and very precious to me, so it makes me super happy that you like him too. *hugs*

Kayday- All of them. The sads are yours. It is you.

LizluvsSpongebob- THAT BUGS ME TOO! Only Kanda will speak in Japanese. And even then, only sometimes. And yes, I am a boysmut mathmatician.

XxGothicXxXLolitaxX- Yeah, I don't wanna have to rewrite this effin thing.


	18. Chapter 18: Allen

**EDIT: I have been accepted and then _turned down __weeks after the fact _by two betas now. (Well, one just stopped responding for a month, but you get the picture.) If any of you have beta skills, or you know a good DGM beta WHO IS ACTUALLY FUCKING ACTIVE, message me. Not a review, a real message, so I know you are serious. I'm getting a bit desperate. **Either they don't want to commit to a long story, aren't active, they don't like threesomes, or they aren't literate enough for me to even consider. Please, help me with this. (And to the two failed betas: I'm not mad. I understand life gets in the way. But it is kinda frustrating to be accepted than ignored.)

Whhhhaaaatttt? I _planned _something? _Me? _Surely not. Surely the duality was not planned from the beginning. Of course it wasn't, because we all know how bad I am at foreshadowing and planning events ahead of time. I'm positive that this has _no plot relevance whatsoever_. We all know that I am far too incompetent to ever leave _hints _within the text for _any _of the yet unanswered questions that you may have. Naturally, this message will not lead to you _going back within the story to look for said hypothetical hints_, because they obviously don't exist. I'm positive there will never be any _future hints that you should look for_, because I am incapable of such things.

Some of you seem to think that Allen wouldn't actually get his ass kicked. Of course he does! I promised an beating, and goddamnit, he's gonna get whiped. Hard. This will be the first REAL fight that Allen and Kanda have. Also, you guys have totally forgotten the reason they went out to sea in the first place, eh? Probably because I can't reveal much about The Order at this point...which sucks, because I DO have it basically mapped out, but our babies are focusing on more important things right now. We'll probably get a little more insight on the surroundings in the next couple chapters. People have constantly been asking about the Noah...I just don't know. I _want _them in the story, but just inserting random characters with no purpose isn't my style, and so far the only antagonists we've needed is Merfolk traditions and time.

Have you guys noticed the change in how I'm writing Allen? How he's a little more strained, a little less alien? Or am I being too subtle about the changes in his character?

PS: Have fun screaming in frustration at the end. **If you are confused by what is said at the end, go back and re-read chapter 7.**

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><p>Yet another three days passed.<p>

But rather than becoming even more restless, Allen was just tired. Tired and weak and _Ouch_.

"Oi, Beansprout. Keep up." _Jab._

Allen wasn't entirely clear how things had gotten to this point. At first, Link had really been against this. So had Bookman.

"Eyes forward, dumbass." _Smack._

But after a few hours of begging for any kind of activity, they had both agreed that it would be good for the boy to get some exercise. Of course, Allen had requested a sparring match with Kanda, which had made Link laugh in his face. He'd spent the rest of that day pouting to Miranda, who'd stuttered at Krory, who'd sniveled at Rohfa, who'd made puppy eyes at her superior, and the next day Allen was being dragged away from his lunch period for 'exertion and examination,' whatever the hell that meant.

"Pay attention." _Oww._

Which would have been fine. Except that it had apparently meant that Link would leave to get a break from his babysitting duties and someone else would watch while Kanda beat Allen within an inch of his life under the guise of teaching him self defense. Of course, Allen was fairly certain that Kanda was under orders to simply wear him out and not teach him anything that could be used against anyone, because even now they were still being overly cautious. So really, it was just Allen getting smacked around for no reason.

While Allen did enjoy actually being able to use his muscles, he wasn't really keen on beatings.

But for some reason he'd decided to come back the day after that.

_Bam!_

This had more to do with the babysitter left in Link's place than anything else.

A fist cracked across Allen's jaw and he spun uncoordinatedly and fell to the ground on his stomach. For a moment, he stayed there, thinking that it would be very nice if he never had to move again. But, then he was reminded of why he was here and looked up.

_Lavi._

The red head had been sent to observe their sparring the previous day and Allen had nearly had a heart attack when he'd seen the man, sitting in a chair beside the area he was supposed to be using for 'learning'. Naturally, he'd been a bit distracted by this, and really had 'gotten his ass kicked.' But today, he wasn't going to let that happen. He was going to prevent as much bruising as possible and try to talk to Lavi afterward. Not that he knew what he would say, but Allen decided he'd figure it out when the time came.

So, he stood up, only to get knocked down again. And again.

This really wasn't getting him anywhere, and he knew it. He was keeping his mask up on purpose, because he still wasn't sure how to act around Lavi. Neah really wasn't suited for this. Neah was too formal and polite.

"Come on, you aren't even trying." Allen looked up at Kanda, who hadn't even broken a sweat, saw him sneer in disdain.

Allen was getting a bit fed up with him. It was bad enough that he was getting knocked around; he didn't need the verbal beating too.

"Neither are you." Allen said, letting his act drop in his frustration.

"Excuse me?"

"I know you're holding back. I also know that you aren't actually trying to teach me anything. If you aren't going to bother doing what you said you would, you could at least stop insulting me by pulling your punches."

There was a swift kick to his ribs that was noticeably harder than previous attacks that left Allen gasping for air.

"I'm doing exactly what I said I would do," Kanda growled, hooking his foot around Allen's ankle, tripping him. "I'm kicking your ass."

"You're not doing a very good job." Allen wasn't sure what was making him goad the other man, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

Kanda didn't wait for Allen to get up this time, instead delivering another kick to the other side.

"Shut up, punk. First you're all up tight, now you're copping an attitude."

Another kick.

"You come here and mess everything up. You think I don't have better things to do?"

Yet again, this time straight to the chest.

"You look like some scrawny brat that's had a curse placed on him, _Moyashi_." Kanda snarled the last part in Japanese, and Allen knew that if he were able to see straight he'd once again witness a beautiful and terrifying god of fury.

One more and Allen was flat on his back with the taste of blood in his mouth and black spots invading his vision.

"I don't like you."

_'Yeah, I'm not all that fond of you either.' _Allen thought.

"Yuu, stop!"

For a while, all Allen could do was try to catch his breath and wonder why the impacts had stopped.

As his vision cleared, Allen lifted his head the few millimeters that he could manage to try and figure out what happened.

He was struck by a strange sense of déjà-vu, almost experiencing two scenes at the same time.

Lavi was holding Kanda back, trying to keep the taller man from killing him.

_After a few moments of tense waiting, Allen realized that he wasn't dead yet and opened his eyes to see Lah-vee holding the other man back._

"What are you doing? He asked for it!"

"You can't go on like this, you'll kill him!"

_"What the hell are you doing, Lavi!" Cah-n-dah shouted._

_"Wait, Yuu! You can't just kill it!"_

Allen blinked, trying to shake off the unpleasant memory.

_'Once again, the human saves me. He's always saving me. Will he help me escape yet again? Do I deserve it?'_

Kanda released a guttural snarl, a blood chilling exclamation of his rage. He forcibly yanked himself out of Lavi's grip, and stalked out of the room, only pausing to glare daggers at the white haired boy on the floor.

Allen let his head drop, closed his eyes, and tried to just focus on breathing and fighting through the pain for a moment.

He heard a sigh and after about half a minute, footsteps coming toward him.

"Are you okay?"

Allen opened his eyes to find Lavi leaning over him, looking a bit concerned, but his eye still had that sickening stillness to it.

"I-I _think _so..." Allen tried to sit up and winced as pain shot up his side. "Ouch. Or maybe not."

For a moment, it looked as if the red head was about to say something, but then he seemed to shake himself and closed his half open mouth. Lavi put his hands around Allen's waist to hoist him up, visibly cringing at the physical contact.

They walked/limped to the chair that Lavi have been sitting in before, and Allen let out a sharp hiss as he sat down, muscles creaking in protest. Every inch of him felt battered and bruised, and he really just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep forever.

"Thank you," Allen breathed.

It was only once the other man started walking away that Allen realized that he and Lavi were here alone. _This was his chance._

"Ah, wait!" Allen flung out an arm to try and catch Lavi's sleeve, clenching his teeth both because he missed and because it really, really hurt to move right now. He put his arm back down gingerly.

"No, I've got to get someone in here to check your injuries." Lavi was sounding more and more emotionless as this went on, and Allen felt a slow brewing of panic and dread build in his stomach.

_'Stop pushing me away, Lavi. You're the only one I can count on right now.'_

"But, uh," Allen scrambled for an excuse, anything to keep him here, to keep him talking. "Can't you just take a look?"

"I'm not qualified to do that." Lavi took another step away from the white haired boy, putting another foot of distance between the two of them.

_'How do I make him believe it's me? What can I say to get that look out of his eyes?'_

Allen wasn't sure what the right thing to say would have been, but whatever it was, it didn't come out of his mouth.

"Do you really think the mermaid was a monster?" The question came out weakly, and Allen was surprised at how much the thought of Lavi saying 'yes' hurt.

The other man just looked at him skeptically for a moment, and then turned around completely.

"You've obviously hit your head pretty hard. I'll be sure to tell them to check for a concussion." He said as he walked away.

_'No, Lavi, wait! Don't leave me alone. I can't do this by myself! You don't really hate me, do you? Was everything really just an act? What did I do? What _should _I do?'_

Allen's head was reeling, and he was suddenly terrified of taking down his mask. He didn't want to be rejected. If Lavi really thought him so horrid, surely telling the red head was the worst thing he could do. The white haired youth _despised_ the deadness in that emerald orb, didn't know why it was there. He wanted to see the happy, care-free face from Neptune's Pearl, not this emotionless thing. The cold emptiness in his expression was scary.

But still, this was his only chance. So, he threw caution to the wind and did the only thing he could think of.

_"Shaer taer cestal!"_

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

fire-ball-kyo-DLM- I'm going to answer your question with the same answer I've given all the questions like that: Maybe. Though, I will say that I like this theory. It's almost as good as Cross implanting Neah into Allen, or Multiple Personality Disorder being a side effect of the spell.

ChiKazex- R-Really? Wow! Thank you sooooo much!

Slake Honda Lol- Uh...hi!

AzureKurashin- Was this soon enough for you? *giggle*

Hinata's Shadow1- I like writing from multiple POVs...I think it really gives the story more depth.

scrletfyre- Nope, not gonna do that with Lavi, lol. It will probably be his POV next chapter, though.

TotalAmuto- OF COURSE, THREESOME! THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT FROM THE BEGINING!

Kurazilssia- RAWWWRRRR! Lol, every time Allen and Kanda get together, they fight. Silly boys. *cuddles you all*

Oaken Wren- I think last chapter was a bit short, though it's hard for me to tell. I am notoriously bad at writing long chapters. No, that's not too dramatic, it's pretty spot on, actually. I miss them talking too.

weirdsquirrelgirl- Yeah, Allen can never catch a break.

Hanashi no iu- I hope you liked this too!

blackirishawk- Lol, glad you liked it. I have a bit more trouble writing for Kanda than Allen and Lavi, so it makes me happy to know that you think I did well.


	19. Chapter 19: Lavi

So, how was the cliff hanger? Fun, eh? *laughs evilly* I'm in love with this not-really-elvish translator that I've found. (Typing in video game characters names into it is really fun and time wasting.) I cussed out some girl in my mish-mash elvish the other day, it was fun. a couple people asked for more of Seaspeach a while back, so I decided to include a bit of Allen's language in this chapter. I don't want this story to be like LOTR-you shouldn't need a Seaspeach dictionary at the end to be able to enjoy it. However, if you guys tell me in your reviews that you like it, I can include more, perhaps put in some notes as to what certain things mean. I'm not gonna have Allen precisely translate and explain all the grammar rules for Seaspeach in the text, because nobody really does that. Otherwise, it will just be an interesting side note and mostly unimportant to the story.

I could have made a long awkward reunion, but both Lavi and Allen missed each other so much, so there wasn't any point. Also, none of the three main characters cry, ever. (Except maybe when somebody dies.) Allen tears up sometimes, but he never lets his tears fall, and each of them has a front to hide their emotions behind. Working around those barriers is gonna be tough. I'm still trying to figure out if Innocence is going to be a thing. I'm not quite sure yet.

By the way...do any of you have a tumblr? I've gotten kind of obsessed with it. I'm using at as a platform to promote my art, post the stupid sketches that I would never put on devart, little fics and rambles, and also selling the jewelry that I make. If you do have a tumblr, let me know in a review, so we can be friends! (Lol, you'll know it's me, cuz my tumblr name is the same as my penname and pretty much all my other names. I'm not very creative.)

I haz beta naow. Beta be good to me. I wuv yew, Tomoyo-chan284.

* * *

><p><em>"Shaer taer cestal!"<em>

Lavi froze in his tracks when he heard the desperate shout. _He knew those words. _They were ones that he'd never forget.

_'It's not true. It _can't_ be true. I can't feel him, I can't feel his magic. It's a trick.' _Lavi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

_'But...nobody else would know to say that.'_

Slowly, he turned around, hoping desperately that he wouldn't be let down again.

_'Allen, if I turn around and it isn't you, I don't think I can take it. It's been horrible being around him, _knowing _that there's no magic, no merman. Please be you, Allen. _Please. _Don't get my hopes up for nothing.'_

Lavi squinted at the stranger in the chair, trying to see beyond the appearance that had been trying to trick him this whole time, trying to find something that was uniquely and undeniably _Allen_.

The legs, short hair, bruises, bloody nose, and most of all, that horrid scar tried to tell Lavi that this was not who he was looking for. But the boy's eyes told a different story.

Twin grey depths were dark and stormy, but a small flicker of hope flared in them once Lavi had fully turned toward him. He knew those eyes. _Those eyes knew him._

"Allen?" Lavi whispered, daring to believe that maybe, just maybe, the lack of magic didn't matter. Maybe this was who he'd been searching the horizons for every day without consciously knowing it.

The darkness in his eyes faded and the last bits of a stranger fell away and all that was left was a person he knew very well.

"Allen?" Lavi repeated, a bit louder this time.

And then, he smiled that smile as bright as the sun, and it _was _him.

Lavi wasn't quite sure how, but all of a sudden, he was across the room, kneeling in front of the chair and throwing his arms unabashedly around Allen's neck.

"It _is _you!" Lavi rejoiced around the strange lump in his throat.

The merman nodded into his shoulder, whispering strangled words in that beautiful crystalline language that made Lavi feel like he'd come home after a storm.

"_Jhalai, ai shar mai masaer. Air'm shael mai cas eil ai cyrn ai tyr's pai air shia teiraer. Ai ber por's cyrn ais o vaelia caraer ti, ai por's cyrn shar sai pai, eil ai_-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I can't understand you." Lavi pushed Allen to arm's length, keeping his hands on the white haired youth's shoulders.

"Tell me why you're here. In a language I can comprehend, if you please."

Allen nodded, but then his expression grew grim.

"You didn't really mean what you said, did you? About me being a monster?"

The red head felt a sick twisting in his gut at the merman's words.

"No, no." He said quickly, "I just...I was trying to keep you away from me. It was hard being around someone who looked so much like you, but wasn't actually _you_...I guess the joke's on me, huh? Jeez, Allen, I'm so sorry. If I'd known..."

"It-It's okay. I understand." Allen beamed at him, but now that the shock was beginning to wear off, the effect was a bit dampened by the blood and bruises.

"Well," Lavi smiled, and it felt like the first genuine one in a long time.

"How about you tell me what's happened while I take a look at your wounds?"

The merman smirked. "I thought you weren't qualified?"

"I'm not. But, I'm more than happy to pretend I am for a bit."

"You just take a sadistic pleasure in poking and prodding me."

"Well, there's that too." Lavi laughed.

* * *

><p>"So, let me see if I've got this straight," Lavi began, dabbing at the blood on his counterpart's face, secretly thankful that they'd finally been able to staunch the flow. Seeing that much blood come out of the merman was a bit...disconcerting.<p>

"You got home just fine, fed your family some fake story, and they sent you back to finish what you started, this time the victim of a spell that gave you legs and took your magic. You've got a year to figure out a way to get out of this mess without killing someone, being stranded on land and killed yourself, or bringing shame upon your kind.

"Actually, I'm down to about eleven months now. And it's not so much shame, as it is the need to continue our race. I'd also like to skip being socially ostracized for being a failure."

"I honestly don't know what to say. Why go to such drastic measures?" Lavi asked, standing up.

"Children are important. Every single one helps keep up going. It's not a simple survival measure, it literally breathes new life into the ocean, into our community. Children give us a reason to soldier on." Allen sighed.

"I want to give my people that. I just...I can't. I'm not ready or willing to pay the price required. I won't take your life."

Allen looked at the red head with intensity in his eyes, and Lavi found himself a bit uncomfortable with the pleasant warmth pooling in his stomach. He looked away, trying to keep the blush off his face.

"Glad to hear it," Lavi dropped the handkerchief he'd been using unceremoniously to the floor. "You may as well spare Kanda while you're at it, even though he's a vengeful bastard." The teen would be having some choice words with the swordsman over the treatment of their guest later.

Allen smiled a bit sadly.

"He's certainly not the most even tempered person I've ever met, but I kind of deserved it. I got upset at him for no reason."

"I'm surprised you didn't snap at him sooner, honestly. I'd be really on edge, if I were you. Leading a dual life must be tough."

Strangely, Allen looked a bit unsettled at that.

"It's...not as hard as you might think."

Lavi opened his mouth to question the merman further, but Allen swiftly changed the subject.

"So, why are they keeping me here? What exactly does that Order want? What _is _The Order? Everyone around me has obviously been ordered not to speak about lots of things, and it's really starting to bother me."

"Yeah, I guess they are keeping you in the dark, huh? Well, I can explain some stuff to you, but we should find a better time and place. The Inspector will be coming to pick you up soon."

"You'll help me get out of here, won't you Lavi? I really need your help."

The man with the eye patch nodded. "I'll do my best to come up with a way. It could take a while though. The first thing we need to do is come up with a more regular way to see each other, so we can discuss things. I doubt Kanda will be eager to continue your 'training'."

"Why don't you become my teacher?"

"Heh. I could, but being the Heir to the Bookman Legacy kind of puts me on the outskirts of their tolerance..."

Allen just cocked his head to show his confusion.

"Look, don't worry about it. I'll come up with a way. For now, I need you to worry about keeping up this impressive act of yours. Lay low for a little while, stop throwing yourself at lunatics who want to beat you to death."

"But I want to see you. I don't feel safe here. Ever. I feel better when you are around."

The red head was momentarily stunned by the blatant honesty in those words. He shook it off though, and gave the upset boy a soothing smile.

"I know. And we'll see each other soon. I promise, I'll come up with a way within a couple days."

Allen nodded worriedly. The merman stood (which was odd for Lavi to think about) and embraced the taller man.

"Thank you, my friend." Allen murmured softly. For a moment, they stood like that, and Lavi was unsure of whether or not he should return the hug. But, the chance never came, because footsteps were sounding down the hall and Allen was pulling away.

The Inspector came through the door.

"Are you quite finished with this nonse-" He stopped speaking upon seeing the bruises that were very obviously beyond what this sparring session _should _have given. "What happened?"

"I fell. I bet it looks awful, huh?" Lavi glanced at Allen. His face was generally the same, but this was _not _the same person that had been standing there a moment before. His back was ramrod straight, his smile too formal, his speech too sweet.

_'Damn, Allen really is a great actor...'_

For a moment, Howard Link simply looked at him. When he opened his mouth to speak, Lavi expected a flurry of questions, but all that came out was, "Huh."

The blonde man turned around and began to walk out. "Come along then. We'll find someone to tend to you properly." Allen scurried over to his keeper like a stupid puppy, and it kind of made Lavi want to laugh at him for acting like such a lap dog.

* * *

><p>"Lavi."<p>

"Hmm?" The red head looked up from the book he'd been reading, unused to interruptions while he was in the library. Most everyone around here knew to leave the Bookman and his apprentice alone when they had their noses in a book.

It was just Krory, the tall man looking awkward as ever while outside of combat.

"Hey, Crow-chan. What brings you here?"

"Inspector Howard Link is looking for you. He asked that I come find you."

Lavi made an assenting noise, and dogeared the page, knowing that it would annoy the hell out of Bookman.

The two walked in a relatively comfortable silence through familiar hallways, until they came to the Inspector's temporary study. Krory nodded and went on his way, Lavi waving cheerily behind him. The red head kept the smile in place, though he sure wasn't feeling it as he opened the door and stepped in without pretense.

"You called for me?"

"Yes. I'd like for you to explain what happened yesterday." The man was looking out the tiny window, and hadn't bothered moving.

"Yeah, I figured that's what this would be about."

Lavi had been thinking a lot about what had happened and what he'd learned during that little episode, knowing he'd have to cover for Allen and figure out a way for them to see each other more often.

"Yuu-chan got a little...out of hand. You know how he can be. I think Neah annoys him."

"I see."

"I don't think it's a good idea for them to have sparring lessons anymore. Maybe afternoon tea or something, but not sparring. Obviously, it's a bit to violent for someone like Neah."

"I agree. Yuu Kanda will be reprimanded for his actions."

"By the way..." Lavi began, hoping that his plan wouldn't backfire. "Neah was asking a lot of questions the other day. About the Order. He's getting curious. We're not going to be able to keep withholding information and still have him be cooperative for very much longer."

The Inspector heaved a little sigh and turned around, eyes downcast. He looked tired. Lavi almost felt bad for him, until he remembered that Link was one of those sniveling Vatican worshipers.

"I am aware of that. It would be best if we could keep him as he is for a bit longer. Our superiors still haven't quite decided what to do with him."

"We could give him something else to focus on."

Link looked up.

"Like what?"

"Well...he seems to be the inquisitive sort. If we begin to teach him things voluntarily, he'll likely trust us a bit more. And if we actively educate him on some things, we can monitor the information he takes in and make sure he doesn't get into anything...off limits."

"I suppose that makes sense..."

"Let him come to me for a little while each day and I'll show him picture books or something."

"Are you suggesting we teach him to read?" Link raised an eyebrow with a look that said 'Are you crazy?'

"No, no. But it'll probably be interesting enough to take his mind off of other things, right?"

"I guess it could work for a while, but..."

"Look. At this point, I don't know of anything else we can do, short of locking him up. I'll try and keep him occupied while you try to hurry along the people at Central."

Link still looked skeptical, but eventually he nodded. They discussed 'appropriate' learning materials for a while, then Lavi was dismissed.

As the red head turned to go, Link called out to him.

"Junior," Lavi glanced over his shoulder. "Please remind Bookman that we must find a solution for the original problem as well."

Lavi just nodded grimly.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

Alissa Lee- The words were a reference to Chapter 7.

Hanashi no inu- T-The best? /blush/ Allen said something he'd said back at the end of chapter 7.

Krystal Nite- Lol, glad you like it. Allen will get laid once somebody decides that sex is necessary...As for the Neah thing, originally, it was just a lark, but then I decided to make it more of a prominent thing.

Oaken Wren- Awww, I'm sorry you felt bad! *pats* Hot boys always make me feel better.

Tintaglia In Flight- Wow, thanks for the long review! Those are my favorite! Yeah, Kanda does turn Allen into a 'meanie-beast'. In fact, early on in the original series, Kanda was the only ally who could get a fiery reaction from Allen. It's one of the things I like best about them. As for the relationship thing...each of them will have some degree of emotions for the others. Kanda tends to focus on physical things, true, but that doesn't mean the relationship is meaningless to him, no matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise.

AzureKurashin- Really? Golly...thanks. / I wuv you too.

blackirishawk- Of course Kanda kicked his ass! Kanda was giving us the precious gift of Battered and Sweaty Allen to be all rag-dolled upon. *cuddles*

Kayday- Aww, poor Allen, his fans are wishing harm upon him. Lol.

scrletfyre- What can I say, Kanda likes it rough.

Hinata's Shadow1- Thanks. I'm glad you like the multiple POV thing, I think it's fun to get to wirte different perspectives.

TotalAmuto- I KNOW, RIGHT? BUT IT'S A FABULOUS ASS THOUGH!

Conrii- I'm sorry you were in the hospital! I'm glad you liked the update though!

Just Being Em- Aw, why'd you stop? And I'm glad you like my story.

xx-Yuu-Chan-xx- Check chapter 7.

Strawberry Leather- OMG, I love your site name! AWWWWW, LEAVE ME A LONG REVIEW, THEY ARE MY FAVORITE! *drool*


	20. Chapter 20: Allen

Uh, about the end...it's kind of another cliffhanger. Please don't pick up your pitch forks just yet though, because I included something I've been promising for a long time now, so that should make up for it, right? *hides* Kanda and Lavi are kind of already a thing, you know? That relationship is relatively stable but sort of lukewarm at this point...really just a friends with benefits thing. (Mostly.) Allen is going to be the one to wake Kanda up, because Allen is ALWAYS the one to do that. Also, don't you think that Allen would totally be one of those people that just lays around naked all day? Like, he'd only put on clothes if he had to go out or people were around.

Random stuff: I wants fanarts. Any fanarts, even if it's just an uncolored scribble. I've never gotten any fanart, and I think it would be so completely awesome. My tumblr is kimbalionheart(dot)tumblr(dot)com, for those of you that wanted to know. BTW, I don't know how many of you have read the manga this far, but I...sort of...like Cross' hair in a ponytail, like in Extra Story: Maria's Sight. So. Yeah. Ponytail hair for him from now on. If any of you catch any point in the story where I refer to Lavi's 'eyes' tell me, because he wear as eye patch, so other people can only see one eye.

* * *

><p>True to his word, Lavi called for Allen two days later. Even though he was still very sore, the white haired boy had to really focus on hiding the skip in his step as he was led to an unknown part of the huge complex they'd been keeping him in.<p>

Link was walking briskly, all business as usual. Allen had begun to notice a slight change in the Inspector, nearly imperceptible. His posture was the same, his tone was normal, but his eyes seemed slightly vacant, as if he was thinking about something else all the time. Allen was a bit surprised to find himself actually worrying about the man. He actually liked most of the people around here, even though the only one they ever saw was Neah.

Allen still couldn't figure out exactly _why _the Order had been keeping him so long. Hopefully Lavi could shed some light on things.

The blonde man eventually stopped in front of yet another nondescript door and opened it without knocking.

This room was fairly small, with only a table and a couple chairs and a meager stack of books and a couple other things on the floor. Lavi was currently occupying one of the chairs and he smiled brightly and stood when the duo walked in.

Without preamble, Link began explaining things. "Through my own experience with you, I've seen that your amnesia has caused several lapses in general knowledge. We seek to remedy this by re-educating you on certain things. I've given that job to Bookman Junior. He will teach you everything to know. I will be back to fetch you in two hours."

"Okay." Neah said. Allen would have told him to go get some sleep because he seemed tired, but Allen wasn't the one in control at the moment.

The Inspector nodded and left with a meaningful look at Lavi.

Both occupants of the room held still for a moment while watching the door, making sure the blonde wasn't coming back. Then Allen flew forward and threw himself at his friend, flinging his arms around the redhead. It just felt so good to be able to take down all the walls, to strip away all this pervading human-ness and just be a merman who happened to have legs.

"I missed you!"

Lavi tensed and didn't respond for a moment before lightly pushing Allen away.

"I, uh, missed you too." Allen opened his mouth to speak, but Lavi beat him to it and changed the subject.

"We should get to work."

Eagerly, Allen nodded.

"I was thinking that we should fully take stock of what we are working with first..."

The merman cocked his head to show that he didn't understand.

"The changes that the spell caused. It wasn't just getting legs right? From what you said, it seemed to do a bunch of things."

"Oh. Yes, it did."

Allen started unbuttoning his shirt, taking a minute to admire his fast progress. He could even do the tiny little buttons with enough time now.

He glanced up when Lavi seemed to almost squeak in protest.

"What are you doing?" The man asked, looking almost panicked.

"You told me you wanted to take stock of everything, so I'm letting you. It's not like you haven't seen me without clothes before." Allen still wasn't too fond of having to go through the ritual of putting things on and taking things off all the time, so it would be nice to get out of these things and keep them off. He didn't have to pretend for Lavi. And maybe he could ask the other man what that gross white stuff that came out of him was!

The white haired boy swiftly stripped off his shirt, and reached down to start taking off his pants, when a hand shot out to stop him.

Lavi really was looking a bit crazed now, seeming oddly flushed.

"No! No, I understand that you have legs, you don't need to take those off."

"But I hate having to wear them all the time," The merman whined.

"Well, just-just keep them on. For my sanity. And once I'm done looking you over, put your shirt back on."

Allen just rolled his eyes. "Why do humans have such an aversion to nudity? Who even came up with the concept of 'being naked'? Whoever they were, they weren't very bright."

"It's because of the Bible...Adam and Eve and all that."

"The what?"

"The Bible...as in, the religious text."

Allen vaguely recalled a few people talking about such things, but the merman had trouble understanding it. Clearly, that showed on his face, because the redhead just shook his head and said to forget it.

Lavi moved in and examined the odd scar on his face first, then held his arm and appraised the strange markings on it. Allen had to admit, these changes were unsettling, even to himself. His arm was almost totally black until the middle of his upper arm, where the color cut off and a couple lines sort of traced the contours of his shoulder and and what looked like little spikes pointed inward toward his collarbone. But it was the scar that really bothered him. It went straight over his eye in harsh, jagged strokes and down his face in a macabre rendition of a falling tear. It looked like some sort of curse brand.

After a few moments, the redhead spoke.

"What purpose do these serve?"

"I dunno. Master said there could be side effects for such a large spell." Allen pouted when Lavi motioned for him to put his shirt back on, but did so to spare the human from the strange social awkwardness that they all seemed to suffer from.

The other man cleared his throat. "Can you tell me _precisely _what this spell entailed?"

Allen explained it as best as he could, trying his best to recall the exact words that his mentor had used.

"So, basically...if we want to get you out of here, you need to be in the ocean when your magic runs out."

"Yes. But, they aren't letting me out of here. I don't even know where 'here' is. Explain this to me Lavi, I don't understand."

"Okay, Okay. Let's sit down."

They did so, and Lavi held his hands in front of him on the table, his voice taking on a patient tone as he spoke.

"You are in the European Branch of the Black Order, in the country of England. The Order is an arm of the Catholic Church, meant to keep the tides of evil at bay. Its purpose is to serve as a barrier between normal people and the supernatural."

"...What?"

To his credit, Lavi didn't get frustrated with Allen's inability to understand such things, he just sighed a bit and tried again.

"England is the name of an area in the larger continent of Europe. It's just a big piece of land. The Church is a religious entity-it's an organization meant to lead people in worship and give them some sort of spiritual sense of peace." Lavi's nose wrinkled a bit at this. Allen didn't quite get it, but he could tell that Lavi wasn't a fan of this Church thing. "The Black Order is a militarized group within the Church, built to keep things like magic and generally anything that isn't human out of the everyday lives of normal people."

"But why would you want to do that? Magic is a good thing."

Lavi actually stopped short at that, looking very much like he was going to blurt something out, then stopping to rethink what he was going to say.

"Humans...don't have magic. We don't really understand it. People tend to be afraid of what they don't understand. So, the Order intervenes, keeping people separate from everything else to prevent panic among the masses."

Allen nodded grimly. He'd seen plenty of evidence of that himself. But it did bring up an interesting point...

"You're human. Are you scared of magic?"

_'Are you scared of me?'_

Those words went unsaid, but they were clearly there, and Allen was sure that Lavi had heard them too. Suddenly, this question seemed very important, and Allen was very tense while Lavi took his time formulating an answer.

"I don't...understand it. It is a bit out of my comfort zone. But I'm not nearly as biased against the unknown as most people tend to be. I was taught to seek knowledge rather than shy away from it," He took a deep breath and closed his eye, then opened it again. "It's unfamiliar territory, but I don't necessarily think magic is bad."

That left Allen feeling a bit better, but also slightly unsatisfied for some reason.

They spoke for a while longer about this and that, and eventually Lavi cut off the serious discussion and started explaining everything there was to know about rabbits so they would have something to show for their time if the Inspector asked about it later.

There was an end in sight to this whole debacle, now that Lavi was helping Allen out. Strangely, he didn't feel quite as ecstatic about that as he thought he would.

* * *

><p>The next day found Allen excusing himself once again from lunch, though this time, he really did have to use the restroom. After relieving himself, he decided to take his sweet time getting back, just to annoy Link. Maybe he could give the man something to think about other than whatever had been bothering him so much lately.<p>

He wanted to see Lavi again. Allen wanted to figure out how to get out of this place and maybe figure out some way to keep everyone back home from being completely disappointed in him. He wanted to get home.

_'No. No, that's not quite right.'_

Allen stopped in his tracks, trying to puzzle out what exactly he was feeling. If he was being honest with himself...it felt more like he was _required _to, rather than he _wanted _to. It was a really strange revelation...when he'd been captured on the ship, he'd longed for the ocean in a way that had kept him up all night, but now he felt sort of...detached. Ambivalent. He certainly wasn't opposed to going back, and he did want to see his friends again, but the spiritual aching, the pull of the tide just wasn't there.

Why hadn't he noticed before?

He hadn't been dreaming of the ocean at all recently. He hadn't even really thought of it with any feeling the whole time he'd been here, he'd just been trying to figure out how to not be killed.

_'What is wrong with me?'_

Allen had just been standing stock still in the middle of the hallway, having a mental melt down, when a pair of fingers snapped in front of his face.

Startled, Allen reeled back and barely managed to avoid falling.

He opened his mouth to speak, not really even aware of what Neah was going to say, but no words came out when he saw who was standing there.

Yuu Kanda.

And just like that, Neah was gone. Somehow, Allen couldn't bring himself to keep up the charade with this man anymore. Not after last time. His mask always got torn off when dealing with Kanda anyway.

Allen straightened his spine and half-glared at the taller man.

Kanda seemed to recognize the challenge, judging by the fire that flared in his eyes. Despite his best efforts not to, Allen shivered. That look was just...

Neither of them spoke, but they seemed to be communicating better than they ever had. Allen wasn't quite sure what it was, but _something_ was happening between them, something abruptly different form their other encounters.

The swordsman stepped forward and Allen held his ground. Until the second step. Three more paces, and Allen's back was against the wall, his mind helpfully letting him know that he was faltering beneath this predator's gaze and letting himself get cornered.

Now that Allen had no more room to back up, Kanda closed the foot of distance between them and loomed over the white haired boy with an unreadable expression on his face and a primal threat of challenge in his eyes.

Allen didn't back down this time, though his heart was beating faster than was probably healthy and his brain had essentially shut down by this point. He gathered his wits about him (what wits he had left, anyway) and glared hard at the beautiful dark haired man, not knowing what this duel of will was for, nor did he know the consequences of the outcome, but he knew he needed to meet it head on. How he knew that, he wasn't sure.

Something akin to approval showed in twin black orbs for about half a second, then nothing for about a second more then something within the other man _roared_. Allen could see it unfold behind the other man's eyes, bursting to life in terrifying glory, turning his eyes almost blue from the force of it.

Then there was a breath and lips and the scent of something unidentifiable and musky.

Allen's last thought before he sank into blissful mindlessness was,

_'Lenalee's lips have nothing on Kanda's.'_

* * *

><p><span>To My Reveiwers:<span>

lil' fayri grrl- Awwh, thank you for so many lovely reviews! Uhm, okay, let's see...in chapter three, yes, he just kind flopped onto the deck. Like those fish that sometimes jump into boats. As for 'Neah'...I don't know either? I never watched the anime, only read the manga. In my head, the 'h' is silent. You won't be able to translate any Seaspeach without asking me. The 'translator' is not really a translator, and not for 'real' elven...it just makes words that could possibly _sound _elven and there is no way to translate that made up language back into English. It's a one way deal. I'll be happy to tell you, if you tell me which part you are talking about though. I just decided to leave it untranslated to keep some of the mystery in it. ;)

Queen Yanna- Lol, I'm glad you are enjoying it. I didn't want them to just get together right away...that's not how life works. Just because the premise of this story is fictional doesn't mean the emotional development has to be completely impossible too. The Order is essentially Holy Ghostbusters. Split personalities are fun, aren't they?

Aki-chan26- Ahh~ Your icon makes me happy...I'm writing a story about Cloud right now as sort of a back burner project...maybe I'll actually post it soon.

insipidfairytales- I know, right? I really wanted to give people something that was at least spell checked.

makeitamission- It makes your soul hurt? Why? Kanda is a huge time bomb, you're right. He has the added problem of not knowing how to deal with emotions, be they from others or his own. He simply channels everything into a physical outlet (sex or violence, mostly) rather than actually addressing any of his problems. It's one of the more interesting parts of his character.

Krystal Nite- Fuck the Little Mermaid. Especially the Disney version. I mean, I like Ariel and all, but with the way her hair was animated, it looked like a bad toupee that wasn't put on properly. Her hairline was like, in the middle of her head. Kanda is not the huggy kissy type, but hard core sloppy makeouts are par for the course. ;)

Soushite Bouya- *Giggle* Isn't that just the funnest thing ever?

setsuko teshiba- Uh, I dunno if you read the thing at the beginning of chapter one, but there will be no Mpreg or kids. At least, not for any significant amount of the story. If I do wind up putting in fishbabies, they will be born outside Allen's body through magic and will not be a focus of the story. More like a footnote in the last chapter or soemthing. But I dunno, I haven't decided yet.

Kinkylittlewolf- Gosh, thanks! I really try to keep my character's personalities at least a little close to the original, because the originals are the ones I fell in love with. If it aint broke, don't fix it, right?

Kichi Hisaki- Anything with Kanda and Allen is violent at this point, even kissing. PS- Allen's lips are gonna be so effing bruised later, you have no idea. Well, I've decided a bit more about the order and I'm pretty sure Exorcists are gonna be a thing, but I don't think Akuma will be...maybe regular old demons, but not Kishimoto's Akuma. As for the Neah stuff...you will just have to wait and see. *evil grin*

blackirishawk- Hehe, I think he's super cute when he;s all rag-dolled.

anicraze009- Yeah, I have a problem with long chapters, sorry about that. But, judging by how short the first few chapters were in comparison to this one, I think I'm getting a little better about it.

TotalAmuto- I KNOW, RIGHT? I WAS FREAKING OUT WHEN I STARTED TYPING STUFF OUT BECAUSE OHHHHH MY GOD, IT SOUNDS SO COOL!

Pawliine- I'm glad!

wierdsquirrelgirl- Hehe, I'm glad they are talking again too.

scrletfyre- Lavi's reaction to Allen was super sweet, no?

BeArOcKpRiNxEsS- It's not a real language, it's some D&D geek thing that is supposed to sound like elven words, but it's really just random syllables. It's fun though!

iceyxstrawberry- Kanda and Allen are a bit slow...I'm thinking of making the next chapter a Kanda POV to explain a little of what happened here.

Hanashi o suru- *blush* Thank you...*hug*

AzureKurashin- I super glad it makes you happy. I just want everyone to have a good time reading this, you know?

Tantaglia In Flight- Ahh, I love that your reviews are so long, those kind are the best...Nah, Kanda's getting left out of the loop for this one. At least for a while. I like the Seaspeach too...I think it adds just a touch of mystery, enough to remind us that Allen is still an otherworldly creatures with powers and a background that we can't imagine. I want readers to be able to relate to him, but I don't want people to be totally comfortable with him. He's not like us, he isn't human, and the other language helps me mark him as different. If I start using it too much though, be sure to let me know. Yes to both of those things.

Kayday- Yay!

sammi117- But cliffhangers are so fun, that's why I'm including one here. *evil grin*

Oaken Wren- The connection between Lavi and Allen is about to get turned the fuck upside down, so enjoy it while you can.

Shadow Storyteller- It-It's not really genius.../blush.


	21. Chapter 21: Kanda

BTW, new cannon: The Order has people from all around the world, right? So everybody has accents. I usually don't think of them that way, because all anime people look like white people and the voice acting usually doesn't allow for accents, but I think it's cute and under-addressed. From now on, Kanda has a silly Japanese accent and his 'l's and 'r's sort of blur together. Everybody has an accent, except Lavi and Allen. Lavi has no accent because he's highly trained, speaks like every major human language and has been several people over the course of his lifetime. Allen doesn't have one because he's augmented through magic, not upbringing. I might mention it in-story later, but that kind of thing just isn't something one thinks about when they've either known the other person for years, or are distracted by the fact that the other one has _fins._

Also, holy fucking shit the word count for this chapter is going to be almost ALL review replies...you guys reviewed like crazy last chapter...keep that up! It's what inspired me to get this out so fast! (And trust me, this was fast, considering I forced myself to write a rather long chapter of my FMA story before I even started on this one.)

This chapter will talk a lot of auras and chi and weird Asian-sounding stuff that I'm not going to bother looking up because I am a lazy American. Being a stereotypical Japanese warrior dude is Kanda's superpower, okay?

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><p>That.<p>

Little.

_Bastard._

What had Kanda ever done to deserve this? He had _saved _that ungrateful little shit. And now the Japanese man was on probation-and unable to take missions-for a whole month. That asinine blond from Central HQ had even had the gall to say he'd gotten off easy. _'Learn to control yourself, Yuu Kanda,_' he'd said.

Control.

Around the Beansprout, he had none.

Why? What was setting him off so much about this kid?

Everyone he passed in the hall gave him as much room as was possible, and for good reason. He was _seething_.

It had already been a couple of days, and he was still just as angry as when that white-headed twit had started egging him on. He was simply stalking blindly through the Order, trying not to strangle every person he saw.

_"You're not doing a very good job." _

Kanda snarled and whirled, planting his fist into the first thing unlucky enough to be in the way. That turned out to be a stone wall, which now had several new cracks in the rock and a nice spatter of blood from the Japanese man's freshly split knuckles.

"Fuck!"

He was vaguely aware of the only person there, an orderly that had happened to be down the hall, squeaking in terror and running for his life.

He grit his teeth and examined his hand. There was a lot of blood, but the cuts weren't that deep. There wasn't even any bone showing. If he didn't think it needed stitches, Kanda didn't worry about minor wounds. He'd had worse. He would just have to remember to wash it off later.

He was thankful for the pain though. It helped clear his head. Kanda stood there in thought, eyes tracing the rivulets of crimson down his calloused fingers and following the droplets as they fell to the floor.

_'What's wrong with me lately?'_

He completely lost his cool every time he saw the Beansprout. Now that he thought about it, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that the little brat was a compulsive liar. He was all smiles and sunshine until he let down an internal wall of some sort, then his chi seemed to almost shift and he became someone else. Almost like he had split personalities. The polite one, he disliked. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the other one yet. What he did know was that he despised the swap. The juxtaposition really bothered him.

What also bothered him was that he couldn't tell which one was the real one. People always had a face that they showed the public that was different than their real one, but their chi always stayed basically the same. But both his faces seemed to have a life of their own. Kanda had thought this boy was relatively normal when he'd carried his passed out form from the beach a month ago, but now...he didn't think that was the case.

Lavi had been avoiding Kanda like the plague for the past few days, so he guessed the other man was upset about him kicking the shit out of that kid. Which was a bit strange, because the Beansprout really seemed to bother the red head.

There was obviously something going on that Kanda didn't yet understand. Normally, he wouldn't care about such things, but this particular mystery seemed to keep tripping him up; he was fucking sick of it.

Tomorrow, Kanda would find that brat. He didn't know what he'd do when he saw him, but dammit, something was going to change.

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><p>The swordsman kept his eye on the kid throughout a lunch that Lavi was conspicuously absent from.<p>

Finally, he got up to leave (presumably to use the facilities) and Kanda knew it was now or never. He waited a minute or two, so it wouldn't be so obvious that he was following the Beansprout, then got up and disposed of his dishes and left the cafeteria.

The bathroom was located pretty close to the mess hall, so he saw the kid right away. He was just standing there. Literally, just gawking at his feet like he'd never seen them before. Kanda made a note to pay very close attention to his aura this time. It was turbulent right now-he was obviously struggling with something.

Kanda stood in front of the Beansprout for a full thirty seconds before he got fed up with waiting and snapped his fingers in front of that stupid scarred face. The kid jumped about a foot in the air and looked like he was going to say something in that overly sweet way of his, until he finally seemed to register exactly who was standing there. Kanda watched closely as the boy straightened up, his whole being seeming to shift as he did. His eyes were sharper now, the grey orbs narrowed into a glare. Surprisingly, his body seemed to relax, muscles less tense. The energy he emitted swirled restlessly, like it couldn't quite figure out what form it was meant to take.

_'Interesting. Maybe if I push him a bit more, I can figure this out.'_

Kanda took a step forward, and he didn't move. So the Japanese man tried to close the distance between them, only to find the white haired boy retreating, matching him step for step. Until his back hit the wall, of course. Finally bringing himself within mere centimeters, the long haired man could see the kid's pupils begin to dilate. At this angle, the Beansprout's neck below his collar was clearly visible and his pulse point was beating fast and hard.

_'Who are you? Are you a man, or a mask?'_

Kanda fixed his most penetrating glare on the boy, looking him straight in the eyes, willing either the man to show himself or the mask to crumble.

What he received was a defiant look and a darkening of stormy eyes. For just an instant, his aura righted itself, morphing into something strong, yet soft, with an underlying current of _something _that Kanda didn't quite recognize, but was strangely familiar.

This was definitely a real person, not a front. And a person with a will of iron, if he could stand up to that glare without shirking. That was good. Kanda could respect that kind of strength. This one had a hidden warrior's spirit.

He looked almost...beautiful, like this.

_'I want him. I want him like this, strong and sure.'_

The urge to take him in this instant, while he wasn't just a _Moyashi_ was overwhelming, and Kanda readily gave in.

The taller man leaned down and kissed the boy without hesitation, releasing a pleased growl when he felt a pair of pale lips press back willingly against his own.

He felt more than heard someone moan beneath him. Hands fluttered at his sides, either too unsure or too unfocused to stay in any one place. Kanda snatched a narrow chin and forced the boy's mouth open so he could explore with his tongue. Fuck, he tasted like sweets. Kanda shrugged it off and was unsurprised by Beansprout's obvious lack of experience with this.

Kanda only let go and pulled back a bit when he was running out of oxygen. The kid was panting like he'd just run a marathon and flushed from head to toe. It was a satisfying thing, to see him that affected. Kanda liked this side of the Beansprout too. No, that wasn't right...he was more than a stupid little kid just now...

Kanda spoke, breaking the relative silence that had covered them thus far.

"That wasn't bad...Neah."

The name was supposed to serve as recognition, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. He seemed rather startled by it and looked sort of...hurt? He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, along with everything else he'd shown so far. Grey eyes went flat, and his energies once again went into muted chaos.

He just nodded and mumbled something about getting back before people started to wonder where he was, then scurried off without looking back.

_Fuck._

That kid was such a pain to figure out! Kanda's curiosity was piqued now though, and with a whole month of being stuck in this place before him, the man knew he would be unable to resist approaching the white haired boy again.

Goddammit, why couldn't things just go his way for once?

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

Kuroki Katsumi- Oh, a new reader! How lovely! Hello there, dear, thanks for reading! I'm super happy you like it! Yeah, lots of people have told me they were a bit hesitant to start, I wonder why? I must just suck at summaries.

xx-Yuu-Chan-xx- You'll find out about Link soon!

wierdsquirrelgirl- Aww, but who wouldn't want to be harassed by Kanda? ;P

harajuku96- Ah, thank you! I support Laven and Yullen too, so this is a lot of fun for me. ^_^

PatchDolly- Yeah, you can have all of them. Just wait til we get to the really steamy scenes.

xenawp532- *runs from chainsaw of lurv*

anicraze009- Yeah, you were right about the last sentence. ^_^

Tintaglia In Flight- I adore long reviews, you have no idea. I'd rather have 20 long reviews than a hundred one sentence bits. (Though I immensely appreciate every single one I get.) I don't know if there will be an Allen war, more like a lot of angsty makeouts. Yeah, Kanda will me more gentle sometimes. Then again, Kanda's version of 'gentle' usually just involves not maiming whoever he's talking to, but hey, who cares? Kanda might hear Seaspeech at some point, idk. He's gonna slowly start figuring things out on his own, it will just take a while because he's kind of a moron. The thing with Link will come into play soon.

scrletfyre- Hehe, how did you like it?

Kichi Hisaki- I don't feel all that bad for Lavi. If Allen Walker started stripping in front of me, I break out the camera.

Conrii- What were you confused about?

DPchick- Neah and Kanda just don't mesh well.

Aki-chan26- Cliffhangers are a bitch, aren't they? (Mwahahahaha!)

silverskies87- Yes, you can have some more Yullen. A round of Yullen for everybody, on the house!

Oaken Wren- I'm glad you liked it! What did you think about this one?

EXO718- Oh well, at least I can't get skewered by a slingshot.

Kinkylittlewolf- *Squees back*

Lola- the mysterious entity- I'm glad you are so excited for this!

blackirishawk- Yeah, what _will _Lavi think? *giggle*

Kurazilssia- No, you two, keep Kussia from hyperventilating so she can keep reading! What did you guys think of the kiss from Kanda's side of things?

Hinata's Shadow1- Achievement Unlocked: Best Cliffhanger (Yay!)

AzureKurashin- Lol, you had a bit of a keyboard seizure in your last review. And Lavi is not pushing him away, per se, but he's more comfortable keeping people at arm's length. *blush* I-I'm not amazing at all...

lil fayri grrl- He does think that he's kissing Neah, kinda. That's mostly due to a lack of information though. And yeah, I'm totally going to put in 'the talk' for Allen, just because I want to try and describe Lavi's face during the event. Ohmygod, can you imagine?

Kyrstal Nite- There will be varying degrees of hot and cold in the relationships for a while, but as more the end result, go on Wikipedia and look up polyamory. That should explain it better than I have.

sammi117- I know. *evil smirk*

Hanashi o suru- Yeah, I seem to get getting a shitload of reviews lately. Not that I'm complaining, but I feel a little bad about driving my word count up so much by including replies in chapters. I'd start sending out PMs, but a bunch of people seem to read all the review replies because they've figured out that I drop hints and headcannons into this section and in my author's notes.

makeitamission- You think it's perfect? *faints* And yeah, you were totally right about that. XD


	22. Chapter 22: Allen

I am so fucking pissed right now. Half this chapter got deleted. qgh:bfEHKLM/LkkkkkkKKKKKKKKKK aaguuuuughghhhhh, THIS IS THE WORST FEELING! Fuckfuckfuck. Forgive me if it sucks but I'm not going to be able to go over it without getting mad for a while.

You guys wanted more Yullen, so I decided to give you Laven instead, because I am a huge bitch. ;P This chapter is really just for showing off some of the cultural differences between Merfolk and humans. _Vystali Aestyrol _translates into 'romance emotions', btw. It's interesting to conceptualize a society that doesn't even have the concepts of monogamy or homosexuality. I'm sorry that this one is a little on the short side, but I really need the next part to be from Lavi's POV for the non-existent plot to work right. I'm planning on getting into Kanda and Lavi's pasts a bit more soon.

ALSO HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS, I HATE YOU. *sniff* Some of your reviews made me cry...in a good way. I don't think I've ever gotten such high praise for anything in my life. It may not seem like it, but I have a serious inferiority complex. I try really hard, but I feel like no one ever notices what I do, be it academics or art or writing, but you guys have been really receptive to me with this project. *bows* I can't fully express my gratitude. Seriously, this was just some weird little plot bunny side thing that was only gonna be 10 chapters at best. Just something to distract me from my problems writing my main story, but now _this _is my main story. It's been such an amazing ride, and I hope you'll stick with me to the end. *hugs all of you* Seriously, though, thanks. I'd love to get to know you more! Come chat with me on my tumblr sometime! Or you can leave me a PM with your Skype, if you have one. I'll add all of you darlings.

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><p>Allen was quiet for the rest of the day. He'd certainly succeeded in giving Link something else to think about, judging by the worried looks the man kept giving him.<p>

_'I almost told Kanda my real name. What is wrong with me?'_

He was jolted from his thoughts when someone tapped on his shoulder. It was Link, of course.

"Are you quite alright?"

Allen wearily retreated and let Neah take over for a while, just wanting to curl up in a ball and sleep.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, that's all." Neah said with a smile.

The blonde man just looked at him suspiciously and motioned for Neah to follow.

"You have another session with Bookman Jr. today."

"Oh," was all the white haired boy replied.

"Are you enjoying your time here?"

That sort of woke Allen up a bit. Such a strange question.

"I suppose I am. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

After that, the Inspector wouldn't look at his charge. There was definitely something wrong with him. Neither Allen nor Neah commented on it though, and the blonde left him in Lavi's care yet again.

"Alright, Allen. Shall we get to work?"

Allen nodded mutely. He wasn't really in the mood for this. He wasn't really in the mood for anything.

He let Lavi start talking, not really paying attention to anything he was saying. Of course, allowing himself to think made his mind turn toward the earlier episode with a certain swordsman.

_Kanda had kissed him. _But why?

It had made Allen feel things he hadn't known existed. It was hot and powerful. Sort of similar to his magic's reaction to Lavi's touch, except rather than being refreshing and soft, it had left him short of breath and oddly excited. It had burned in a way that made him actually enjoy fire for once. It wasn't quite magic, but it was close. Why hadn't the kiss with Lenalee or the one he'd given Lavi been the same?

When the dark haired man had called him 'Neah', it had felt like Allen had been punched rather than complimented. He didn't like that the one Kanda was looking at had been Neah, rather than himself. Why? Why was this happening?

Allen had too many questions going through his mind and no answers. But he had someone here who could fix that.

"Lavi."

"-and the ocean is about-What?" The redhead looked a little surprised, though whether it was at being interrupted or Allen's tone, the merman didn't know.

Allen walked a bit closer to the other man, not really knowing why he was doing this.

"Can you just...stand still for a second? I need to check something."

Lavi just nodded slowly, looking very confused.

Without knowing exactly what he was doing, Allen brought a hand to each side of Lavi's face, distantly noting that the man's cheeks got really warm as he did.

"Wha..." The redhead trailed off, apparently not knowing what to say. Allen leaned in, making his intentions clear, and while Lavi did reel back a little, he didn't pull away.

His lips were warm. Allen could feel little puffs of breath roll across his face as Lavi breathed through his nose. Shakily, Lavi put his hands on the merman's shoulders and for a horrible moment, Allen thought the redhead would push him away. But all he felt was a slight squeeze and trembling fingers resting near his neck. So, Allen just closed his eyes and enjoyed it.

This was nothing like the kiss he'd shared with Kanda. It wasn't like when Lenalee had kissed him either, though. It was in a category all by itself. It was warm and tremulous, accompanied by a light, fluttery sensation bubbling up in Allen's chest. It felt safe and sort of made Allen want to curl up in a patch of sunlight with this man and just be.

Slowly, the two parted and just stared into each other's eyes for a long while.

"What...What was that all about?" Lavi whispered, as if raising his voice would break the delicate warmth that had washed over them.

Allen shrugged, secretly pleased to still feel the weight of Lavi's hands on his shoulders. He hadn't moved his own palms from that beautiful flushed face either.

"I don't know, I just...I wanted to know what it would feel like."

"What it would feel like?" The redhead got that confused look on his face again, which sort of clashed with the blush, but Allen didn't care.

"Yes," the merman murmured, moving his arms to twine around the taller man's neck and leaning his head into a strong shoulder, bringing their bodies even closer together. It felt nice. "I've been so confused today. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Allen sighed and closed his eyes. "Kisses remind me of magic..." Allen whispered dreamily, feeling tired in a pleasant way.

Lavi wrapped his arms around Allen's waist, which felt _fantastic_, and just remained quiet for a bit.

"Allen?" Lavi continued to speak softly without waiting for a response. "What do you mean when you say you don't know what you're doing? What has you so confused?"

_'Yes, what is making me feel this way? In reality, it isn't Kanda, it's...'_

"I don't feel connected to the ocean anymore. Like...when I was on the ship, I ached for the water again, but now...I'm just sort of numb to it. This isn't right, Lavi. I don't know what's happening to me."

"Hey, don't fret over it so much. It's probably just one of the spell's side effects."

"I don't know. There's just been so much to take in and so much has changed...I don't know what's real and what's fake anymore."

_'That's it,' _Allen realized. _'That's what Kanda was doing. Trying to figure out what was real. He only really reacted to me once I'd let my mask down...That must be why he kissed me! He was trying to figure out who I really am. Could it all have been some lie by the Order to try and get me to reveal my true self? Why didn't I see it before?_

Allen's heart stopped. If all that was true...

_'He knows. He knows I'm not as I appear to be.'_

"Lavi," Allen leaned back a bit and looked the other man in the face. "I think Kanda is onto me. I think he knows that I'm hiding something."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just this feeling I have...Earlier, he kissed me. It was actually really enjoyable, but I think he must've done it to try and get a reaction from me, trying to see through the façade."

Allen didn't miss the darkness that flooded the human's face.

"He...he kissed you." Slowly, something like horror spread throughout his expression. "Is that why you said you wanted to know what kissing me would be like?"

Allen nodded, wondering why the redhead seemed so upset.

Lavi released Allen from his hold and backed up a step.

"Do you know what the significance of a kiss _is_?"

"Of course. It's a display of affection."

Lavi shook his head and closed his visible eye tightly. "No. Well, yes, but that's not all. A kiss is meant to be shared between lovers."

"Uh, alright. So?"

"So, why would you accept a kiss from Kanda and then give one to me?"

"I don't understand the question."

Lavi just looked at the merman like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Do you even know what monogamy is?"

"Do I know what _what _is?"

"Oh my god. This can't be happening. Not with Kanda. No way." The redhead started muttering to himself distractedly, and Allen began to get really worried. He wondered what he'd done wrong.

"I don't get why you are so upset. Please, explain it to me so I can understand."

"Just-How many lovers are you limited to? What does that word even mean to you?"

"Limited to? Why would there be a limit on something like that? And a lover is someone you care very deeply for. _Vystali Aestyrol_. Obviously."

"Vis-what?" Poor Lavi looked just as confused as Allen felt.

"_Vystali Aestyrol_. It's the emotion you feel for your lovers."

"_Lovers_. Plural. That's the problem here. Humans don't have more than one partner. It's considered a grave sin to be with more than one person."

_'Oh.'_

"Who came up with that rule?"

"I-I don't know, that's just how it is. And while we're on the subject, it isn't exactly the social norm for two males to be together either."

"What in the world does gender have to do with anything? And it's not like I was trying to get you to be my partner. If I was, I would have said as much."

Hurt flashed through an emerald eye but Lavi spoke before Allen could think about it too hard. "So that kiss didn't mean anything to you?"

"What? Of course it meant something!"

The human's brow furrowed. "And what meaning did it have, exactly?"

"That I trust you! You're my friend."

Lavi sucked in a breath. "Your friend."

Allen nodded his head eagerly, hoping his sincerity would reach the human and snap him out of whatever weirdness had come over him.

It appeared to have the opposite effect though. Lavi's expression went flat and his eyes dulled into that grey-green that they had been before he'd revealed who he was. Allen _hated_ that color.

"Well," the redhead continued in a carefully constructed monotone, "Glad we have that cleared up. I'm sure Kanda interpreted what happened between the two of you differently, though. I'll try to figure out what he is thinking later. Now, onto more important things."

Allen tried to pay attention as Lavi told him about the quickest ways to the nearest ocean, but he really couldn't. He knew his friend wasn't happy. And he was hesitant to try to figure out why. Conjecture would get him nowhere of course...

He just hoped that his suspicions were wrong.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

RelaspeWarrior- R-Really? Wow, I'm honored. asdkgj, ITS NOT THAT GREAT. Thank you thankyouthankyou. I, uh, I honestly don't know what to say. That's like, the sweetest thing anybody's ever said to me...

Taiji92- Oh, gosh, a two part review! Thank you so much for your praise! I'm glad you like the slow approach. I've always appreciated a well developed relationship more than sex. (Though the sex is fun too!) Yeah, I get that a lot, about the mermaid thing not being very convincing. For some reason, most mermaid fics aren't very legit, so I wanted to try my hardest to make a really good one! AND YES, 400 REVIEWS, YOU FUCKING MADE MY YEAR. Let me love you forever.

wierdsquirrelgirl- Ah, your icon, I love it. And yeah, the whole reason this story started is because I like both Laven and Yullen and couldn't pick between the two, so I just decided to have both. :)

xenawp532- Yay, no more chainsaw...for now. XD I hope you aren't thinking about taking it out because of all the trouble in paradise.

scrletfyre- Kanda is just a pretty bold guy. It's part of his charm. It's surprisingly hard to write for such a straightforward character, though.

Kurazilssia- . You guys are the CUTEST. I, like, always look forward to your reviews because they are just so adorable. Glad you liked the kiss, Razil-chan. Kuu-tan and Kussia-san too!

NitshadeTwiningTheRosary- Asjfk, welcome back! *hugs* Why would you not review? Critique is always accepted and appreciated even though I rarely correct things, I do listen and take it into consideration. I'm willing to admit when I've done something wrong and I can always do better! I'm gonna number off the points/complaints you made so we can better keep track of my answers. **1.)** Well, now I know. (Honestly, even after having it explained to me, I feel like they are sort of the same. I don't understand mental/spiritual things.) If you want to be super helpful, suggest some synonyms! The only reason I used both those words rather than just one was because it was mentioned so many freaking times! And using the same word ten times in a row makes for some boring, awkward reading. Synonyms for both would help. I uh, looked that up, but all I got was medical stuff and ghosts and people with the same misconceptions that I have. Now you have homework too. **2.)** Probably won't write in Romanji, although that is a cute idea. (Because I can't read it. I get confused enough with basic monosyllable proper English. That's why these short chapters take so long.) Of course I know about Kanda's name! But...when did he think his full name to himself? I don't remember...if you can point me to the place you are talking about, I'd be happy to fix it. **3.)** I'm not trying to angst with cussing? So, when the characters in the manga (i.e., this is completely cannon, according to the translation I read, which admittedly isn't the official one) come under duress, they cuss a little bit. Not a lot, just a swear or two at the rough parts. When Kanda comes under duress, he cusses up a storm. Which is why I write him that way. Constantly pissed off, and constantly swearing in his head, because that's how I interpreted him. There's a reason I don't do that much with Lavi or Allen, you know? And I honestly couldn't care less if it offends people. That may seem callous, but oh-fucking-well because that's how that character (and me, for that matter) thinks. I won't censor myself just because someone doesn't like swearing. I get that it's not the best display of talent, but it is the best display of my version of Kanda, y'know? **4.)** HAHAHA, NO. I've said this a ton, but. Kanda. Is. Dumb. He doesn't know why it happens, so neither do you! You just gotta wait til he puzzles it out for himself. ;p **5.)** ...Okay. Let's switch fandoms for a second. You and I are both Dragon Ball Z fans now. They have power levels. It shows how much energy they have and how strong they are and if they can do certain things. It's their energy signature. For a second, Allen went Super Seiyan, and his power level was over 9000. Then, he got shocked out of it and his power level went way down and was fluctuating throughout several low numbers. Okay, now for the rest of your review. Of course I don't hate you for it, I just don't listen to most of the things like this, because I'm a terrible person that writes for my own enjoyment, rather than the enjoyment of others like I really should. But I'm willing to work with you. It's not like you were mean. You were just bringing up way you thought I could improve, and I even agree with some of it. Why hate because of that? Everybody's opinion is valid. Lol, this reply is like 500 words long.

P. junchi- Hehe, glad you liked it!

Kuroki Katsumi- Yeah, for some reason nobody seems to take mermaids seriously. Maybe because they've been bastardized by the media so much. Oh well, I'm glad you gave it a chance!

AzureKurashin- Yeah, most of my updates are short. Sorry about that. Yeah, Allen was pretty upset about it.

Oaken Wren- Yeah, I wanted to make sure my readers had a good idea of where each of the main characters is coming from. It takes longer, but I think it really adds depth to the story. Lol, don't be afraid to leave long, analytical reviews, if you want. I certainly don't mind hearing your views about it.

Tintaglia In Flight- I-It's not a masterpiece, baka! *gets all tsundere when flustered* I thought it was important for Kanda to at least be able to sense the difference between the two, since that will come into play in later events WHICH I TOTALLY AM NOT HINTING AT HERE, , *cough*. Kanda is very dense. It's not that I think he doesn't have the ability to be smart, but he's so unused to thinking beyond the next action that he just doesn't know how. It makes for a very interesting character. And hellz yeah, I jumped right into those angsty makeouts, didn't I?

wolf- Yeah, myu chapters are always short. It's because I have a horrible attention span. ^_^;

Moonpuzzle- AHAHAHHA, I did a dramatic reading of your review to one of my friends and when I got to the 'DAMN SON!' I said it in a hick accent and she spit her drink out. So thanks for that. Chaos is my middle name.

Kinkylittlewolf- I feel a bit bad for him to. TBH, I'm not really sure how I'm going to break that one to Kanda yet. Oh well. THat's how I usually write-with absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

silverskies87- Allen is the luckiest of all bitches. Yeah, I always have to curb my instinct to write flowery descriptions when in Kanda's POV, cause he doesn't give a shit about that stuff. Lawl.

blackirishawk- Kanda has pretty much no control over his hormones. ^_^

Hanashi o suru- I'm glad you feel it's worth waiting for! Hopefully I didn't make you wait too long this time!

Shizaki Kuro- Kanda's curiosity did get him a hot kiss with Allen though, so I don't think it turned out too bad. XD

lil' fayri grrl- Lawl, moo-stash. Yeah, Kanda is huge dork-face.

Krystal Nite- Yeah, the sexy definitely makes up for it. Yeah, I think the Wiki is good reference for people who don't know what it is.

sammi117- Kanda is super hawt, isn't he?


	23. Chapter 23: Lavi

This story is totally a soap opera. We have love triangles, multiple personalities, forbidden love, bad pasts, and secret identities. And that's not even including all the drama with the merfolk and the Order. And every time I try to address something important, the boys get sidetracked. Ugh, how I am I ever gonna get this thing done?

Getting into the past a bit, and into the _feelings_. I figure Lavi will be the first to face these demons, since he's got something to lose if he doesn't. Also, I wasn't planning on writing any smut, but then I looked up and it was there. XD So, uh, **explicit porn warning** for the middle of the chapter, I guess. I think I might start saying which pairing the steamy scenes center around in the ANs from now on, so you can skip it if you really don't like that pairing. This particular one happens to be **KandaxLavi**.

Developing a distinct writing style of each character is certainly an interesting venture, especially when you start getting into sex. I think Lavi is a lot like me (which is probably why I find him the most fun to write) and I feel like he would never be able to totally turn his brain off during intimacy. Like, he's totally there for it, but he can't stop thinking about stuff during it. Also, I make an effort for sex to not be perfect. I don't know how many people on this site have actually _had _sex, but in case you haven't let me enlighten you. It's messy and sweaty and embarrassing and people almost never cum at the same time. Seriously, that never happens outside of bad pornos. And most people don't magically get off from the sound of their lover's orgasm; it usually takes more stimulation than that. And the noises you make are not heavenly; they make you either sound like a mouse or a monkey. And there is always at least one body part that is at the very least uncomfortable and at worst painful. So, yeah, don't expect the perfect deflowering scene full of beauty and rainbows and _'Oh, it's my first time, but it feels so good, because our love for each other is marvelous,' _blah blah blah. There should be an emotional connection present, but it's not going to be like that.

* * *

><p><em>'I am a hypocritical asshole.'<em>

That phrase just kept circling round and round the edges of Lavi's consciousness, reminding him of how messed up he really was.

He sat alone in his rather small room, head in his hands, wondering how the hell this had happened. Lavi took several deep breaths to calm himself and tried to think things through. He systematically went through all the revelations he'd come to today.

There was no way Kanda would kiss _anybody _he didn't want to, even on orders. Lavi seriously doubted that the Order would come up with something like that anyway. Meaning the Japanese man had taken an interest in Allen. It certainly was possible that he could tell there was something off about the boy though. He'd always had a sense for things like that.

Allen's society was _vastly _different from the ones on land, even more so than Lavi had first thought. It was a miracle that he hadn't been found out yet. That could probably be accredited to the completely baffling acting skills he seemed to have acquired recently. He seemed to be able to bullshit his way around anything.

Finally, there was the worst fact of all: Lavi had officially broken one of the unspoken laws of the Bookman legacy. He'd become emotionally compromised. He had surprisingly little problem swallowing this fact.

The redhead heaved a sigh and tried to figure this out.

That kiss that he and Allen had shared had been...wow. Not exactly the mind-blowing fervor that he and Kanda had, but still. Lavi had been intensely jealous when he'd found out that Allen had not only shared a kiss with the dark haired man, but _enjoyed _it as well. Who he was jealous of, he couldn't quite decide. Hearing that Allen's people didn't really believe in homosexuality or monogamy had been a shock and had brought with it a sinking feeling. Their moral standards were so different, but at the same time...his words had brought a sick, secret relief that Bookman Jr. immediately felt guilty for. _Allen wouldn't get upset if he ever found out that Lavi was sleeping with Kanda._ And he wouldn't find it strange that the redhead was apparently attracted to two people. However, the merman had made it pretty clear that he didn't return the sentiment. And it wasn't like he and Kanda were a couple or anything-more like friends with benefits.

Lavi knew he couldn't turn a blind eye to this anymore. He had to face his feelings if he was going to be able to get Allen out of this alive. He didn't need this extra confusion.

_'How do I feel about this? About them?'_

Lavi was definitely friends with Kanda, but he cautiously harbored a secret attraction to the man. Not just his body, but his unwavering determination as well. He was pretty fond of the grumpy swordsman. He felt like the battles that they'd been through together gave them a certain understanding of each other that was fairly rare-and dangerous, considering Lavi's line of work.

Allen...If the redhead was honest, he'd felt something ever since he'd started talking to the merman. Sort of an instant affinity that had only grown stronger with time. Lavi cared deeply for the boy. It was more than just lust, at this point. Allen seemed to have a mer-word for everything, so he'd probably be able to decipher the redhead's emotions better than Lavi himself could. How ironic.

He didn't want Allen to die. He _couldn't _let Allen die. He had to figure out a way to get the boy safely out of the Order's clutches and back into the ocean, no matter what. He couldn't jeopardize that by acting irrationally.

He'd shut down earlier when Allen had said that they were just friends, but that wasn't fair. They had to stay that way. He couldn't act on these feelings, or else...

Lavi shuddered. That wouldn't be pretty.

So, he stomped on his feelings, locked them up tight and sealed them away where they would never see the light of day. He tried to ignore the fact that it hurt much more than it should have.

_'First thing's first,' _Lavi decided. _'I gotta figure out what Kanda's up to with all of this. If he's got his sights set on Allen, I won't be able to sneak him out of here as easily.' _

The redhead nodded, feeling a grim determination swell up within his chest. He'd do everything in his power to get Allen out of here safely. He could only hope that he wouldn't destroy himself in the process.

* * *

><p>As Lavi went out into the nearby forest, where he was sure he'd find the dark haired man, he realized just how familiar being around Kanda felt. He must've walked this path a thousand times in the couple of years since they'd become friends.<p>

The redhead thought it was pretty strange that Kanda was coming onto other guys on his own now. He remembered the first time the two of them had kissed, the violent denial that the then 17 year old swordsman had gone into, which had left Lavi spending the night in the hospital ward. Lavi had been raised by Bookman and had been taught to be impartial to most things. He hadn't really cared that Kanda was a boy, only that the other man had seemed as sexually frustrated as Lavi himself was and that he could possibly be a good outlet for that tension. Kanda had cared though. He'd gone on and on about how he 'wasn't a fag' and 'didn't have those kinds of thoughts.' He'd even tried to convince Lavi of that very same thing during their first time having sex! Eventually, the Japanese man had become more honest with himself though, and now their nighttime activities didn't interfere with their friendship too much. In fact, Lavi would dare to venture that it had strengthen their bond.

Looking back on it from the point of the heir to the Bookman legacy, it had been a lapse in judgment. They knew each other far too well for it to be okay. However, Lavi knew rationally that he couldn't avoid all human contact, and he enjoyed the other man's company. Bookman had eventually approved of their relationship, if only because Kanda genuinely couldn't care less about any information the redhead might have access to.

He really didn't want to ruin this...whatever it was that they had over Allen. Lavi hoped this went well.

As expected, Kanda was out in the clearing practicing with his sword again. Lavi took a moment to just observe, noting the subtle changes that were screaming that the man's mind was on something else. His moves were slower, more controlled than normal. Clearly, he had to concentrate pretty hard to get himself through his routine today. The redhead waited until a good time to interrupt before calling out to the other man, as he had so many times before.

Slowly, Kanda turned toward him, panting heavily.

"Hey." Lavi walked over to a nearby tree and leaned against it, motioning for Kanda to join him. The Japanese man looked immediately suspicious and didn't move.

"Come on, I'm not going to eat you. I just want to talk."

"About what?"

"About Al-Neah." The redhead cursed himself for the slip and hoped his friend hadn't noticed.

"What about Beansprout?"

_'Beansprout?'_

"Interesting nickname. Anyway. What's up with him? First you are trying to kill him, now you're trying to bed him?"

Kanda glared. "This better not be some jealous rant, Lavi."

Lavi shook his head and snorted. He knew he'd have to play it cool if he was going to get the other man to talk. "Hardly. I'm just curious. Why the sudden change?"

"Why do you know about it?" The swordsman countered.

"Neah is having lessons with me now. He told me about it. I don't think he fully understood the implications."

"Che." Kanda gave up and deflated a bit, moving to stand closer to the redhead. He didn't speak for a long moment, but Lavi knew that he was just gathering his thoughts.

"It's almost like he's two people. I hate the one he normally is, but sometimes he shows another face that I like."

Lavi's blood ran cold. Allen had been right; Kanda was picking up on things he shouldn't have been. Fortunately, he knew how to keep the emotions out of his voice.

"So, you beat up one side of him and kissed the other?"

"No, moron. That was all for the same part."

"You have a seriously messed up way of showing attraction, you know that?"

Kanda just shrugged. Lavi carefully calculated his next phrase, eventually just deciding that the direct approach would be best.

"What makes you think he has multiple personalities?"

"His aura shifts. I've never seen anything like it before."

Lavi just made an assenting noise, secretly hoping that Bookman wouldn't catch on too. He knew that the old man could sense strange things just like Kanda could.

"Are you serious about him?"

Kanda snorted and waved that thought off noncommittally, but his body language seemed to indicate that he was uncomfortable. Lavi wondered why exactly. He let it go for now though, knowing that Kanda would clam up if he pushed any further on that subject.

"So, you _are _trying to get him into bed with you, then?" Lavi asked mischievously, pushing aside the sick jealousy twisting in his gut.

"Not at _this_ moment, no."

While Lavi tried to puzzle out that enigmatic response, he failed to notice the swordsman moving closer. When Kanda pounced, he tried to react and step away, but it was too little too late. All of a sudden, he had himself an armful of passionate warrior. Lips smashed against the redhead's own and a sweat drenched, rock hard body pressed up against him.

_'He gets horny at the drop of a hat,' _Lavi thought exasperatedly.

As always, he felt his body grow warm without his mind's consent. Kanda was very hard to resist when he was like this. But Lavi made a valiant effort anyway.

He jerked his head back, breaking the kiss (and smacking his cranium against the tree in the process) and panting like a dog.

"W-Wait. This is outside aaaaannnd," Lavi sort of hissed his way through that word as Kanda started tonguing his ear, which the bastard _knew _was one of his sensitive spots. "And you h-haven't showered from your workout yet," the redhead finished lamely.

The Japanese man growled and shoved away, giving Lavi a couple seconds to calm down, but all too quickly he felt his wrist being grabbed and was tugged back down the well worn forest path.

"W-Where are we going?" Lavi questioned, a little panicked.

"To grab a shower," the dark haired man replied simply. By his tone, Lavi was positive that neither one of them would be focusing on bathing.

* * *

><p><em>'Note to self: Shampoo is not a good substitute for lube.'<em>

The stretching process usually didn't burn this much. But Lavi didn't complain. He just grit his teeth and tried not to concentrate on the fact that Kanda was so familiar with his body that he knew how Lavi was feeling without the redhead having to say anything. The swordsman just rubbed the small of Lavi's back in the way that always calmed him down and bent him over a bit more to get a better angle.

The pounding of water droplets against the floor made for interesting background noise, and Lavi was so sensitive that every single drop that hit his flushed skin left a tingling sensation in its wake. It was unfamiliar territory, as they'd never done their coupling in the showers before. Lavi kept feeling like he was going to fall. Having sex while standing was one thing, but having sex while standing on slippery tile and bathroom fixtures jutting out everywhere was an entirely different story.

Finally, Kanda got a little frisky and started hitting the right spot with increasing frequency, which had Lavi gasping and whimpering. The embarrassing noises echoed around the shower room, the sound bouncing of the tile and reverberating in the air, which _really _freaked Lavi out. That had been way too loud. The bathroom door was locked and it was unlikely that anyone had been in the hall at this time, but still. They were still in the middle of a building run by the Vatican. If either of them were found like this, it was likely they would be executed or 'rehabilitated' for their 'sinful ways'. Of course, Kanda either didn't think about those sorts of things, or he didn't care. The noises only seemed to spur him on even more and the redhead just bit his lip to muffle the sounds.

"Just-Just get to it already. My skin is already starting to prune." Lavi panted.

Kanda growled and thrust his fingers in particularly hard as punishment for daring to try and command him. But, after that he complied and removed the offending digits, only to place something larger that definitely wasn't a hand up against the redhead's entrance.

Lavi couldn't really see what the other man was doing from this angle anyway, so he just closed his eyes and braced himself.

_'Here we go,' _he thought, before all coherency was ripped away.

As always, the initial breaking of his physical barriers stung a little, and the pressure that built throughout the slow thrust was a tad uncomfortable. But Kanda had learned to control himself a bit over the last year or so and at least held still long enough for Lavi to adjust before reaming his rear end to the point of internal bleeding.

Kanda withdrew until just the head of his dick remained inside. Then he slammed back in so hard that Lavi imagined he could feel it in his throat. The Japanese man reached around and roughly palmed Lavi's manhood while thrusting his own in and out of the redhead until he was seeing stars.

It didn't take long.

Lavi could tell that this wasn't going to be one of their long 'rough housing' sessions from the get-go. It was just getting off. He normally didn't like it like this, and he was uncomfortable here, so he just sort of wanted to be done with it. The normal lack of oxygen combined with the steam from the shower was starting to make him dizzy.

Kanda stroked the redhead to his peak and let him topple over the precipice, continuing to grind into his over-sensitized partner for a full thirty seconds before following suit.

Lavi gasped and shivered, secretly despising that nasty feeling of having something slimy where it really shouldn't be. Slowly, he lowered himself to the floor, giving his trembling legs a rest. Easing his legs open to wash away the evidence, he hissed as the water hit his heated body.

The swordsman collapsed in a huff beside him and Lavi took the opportunity to watch him while his defenses were down. Not many got to see the warrior like this, all tired and cute. Lavi put up with the rough treatment because he _adored _Kanda's afterglow. It only lasted for about a minute, but the man sort of splayed out like his limbs had been turned to jelly, leaned against Lavi, tucked his head into the crook of the other's neck and actually _cuddled._ Lavi couldn't see his face, but he knew from experience that Kanda's eyes would be closed, his cheeks flushed, and his expression somewhere between bliss and exhaustion.

As soon as those dark eyes opened though, it was back to business.

Kanda stood without a word and began to actually wash himself. The redhead gave himself another moment or two to recover, then did the same, though he made sure to be very vocal about how much his back hurt.

"Stop complaining," snorted the dark haired man.

Lavi squashed the urge to run his fingers through Kanda's now sud-soaked hair and pasted on a grin.

"Whatever. Seriously though, let's not do it here again. This tile is a bitch to balance on during acrobatic activities."

Kanda just rolled his eyes and muttered something in Japanese. Lavi wasn't quite sure, but thought he picked up something about stupid rabbits.

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><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

RhiannaonWolf- Allen is such a cutie pie, isn't he?

Tintaglia In Flight- Both is good! I'm glad you liked that chapter. I tried really hard to have their conversation flow in a way that wasn't completely spastic. And yeah, Link. We shall see about him soon. :)

lazycookies- I'm happy that you were excited! You yelled at the computer, huh? And he not oblivious, just...culturally ignorant.

Vermouth- Thanks!

Conrii- The hospital? Oh, honey, are you okay? *hugs* I'm happy you liked them!

Oaken Wren- I'm actually kind bad with angst, so I hope this goes well. *crosses fingers*

Kinkylittlewolf- Not knowing what I'm doing seems to be a way of life for me. ^_^; I feel a bit bad for Lavi too.

Five Seconds- He kind of _did _get friendzoned...poor baby. XD

scrletfyre- Allen does. Lenalee and Allen are just friends at this point, and they kissed. That's part of his society. Like how Europeans do that strange quick kiss on the cheek thing. Being an American, that would freak me out, but it par for the course for them. Granted, Allen's actions aren't exactly normal, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. XD

blackirishawk- Yeah, poor Lavi. I really did feel bad for him.

silverskies87- Feeling that way sucks, doesn't it? Thank you for the review-hug! Allen is totally adorable at times.

AzureKurashin- Did you tell them that you were grinning because the merman just kissed his potential boyfriend? XD

Kurazilssia- Sugar! Sugar! Yummy! And I'm glad you liked the chapter! What about this one? Have fun with the steamy scene? *waggles eyebrows*

moonlitlotus3546- I'm happy you enjoy my writing!

Hinata's Shadow1- Aww, I hope your characters make up. XD

Shizaki Kuro- I know, I wanted them to be confused. I felt that it would serve as a good catalyst for Lavi to really start examining his feelings.

Hanashi o suru- I love the drama too! I had to break it up with some sexy time though. ;)

Kuroki Katsumi- Yeah, even though he's a good actor, Allen really doesn't know much about humanity. XD

lil' fayri grrl- MWAHAHAHA. I wonder what's up with Link, hmmm? We shall see!

sammi117- I hate that I had to hurt his feelings, but he never even would've acknowledged that he _had _feelings if I didn't hurt them.

RelapseWarrior- Of course I responded! I respond to every single on I get, because they are all precious to me! Poor Allen just doesn't seem to understand, does he? ;P


	24. Chapter 24: Allen

Timing is an intriguing beast within literature. Stories that have events happen too abruptly turn me off, but stories that take too long leave me bored. I try to mix it up some. I hope I don't ever leave you guys disoriented with the pace of my story. I try to keep it pretty well paced, even though I know some of you are impatient fangirls. ;) Specifically, I hope it goes well for this chapter...I didn't really have a plan for this one, so I'm kinda just writing out my ass and seeing where the syllables take me. Trying to build tension effectively is hard when you have no idea what you are doing. :( I hope it isn't too confusing. (I kind of hate this chapter.)

So, I scoured the site to find good fanfiction-not just readable, but true works of art. Found some really good stuff! Found an author I adore with a story worth reading...that hasn't been updated since 2009, and is a couple chapters away from finishing. ~sigh~ I don't want to be one of those people who just leave everyone hanging...so, if updates ever fall really far behind for this or my other story, I give you permission to PM me and message me on tumblr to get my ass in gear. This might take years to complete,(I hope not) but dammit, as long as at least one person is reading, I gotta finish this thing. I just hate that feeling of never knowing how it will end, don't you?

* * *

><p>Allen felt...odd.<p>

Link escorting him to the room he and Lavi had their 'sessions' in was normal. But everything else was not.

Lavi would be waiting for him in that room, and after yesterday, Allen didn't know what to think. The man was obviously bothered by...something. Allen still had trouble figuring out exactly _what_...the conversation they'd had was confusing at best. The redhead had mentioned something about kisses and limits and gender. The white haired boy just couldn't make sense of it all. Normally, he would have just asked, but...Allen got the sense that he shouldn't. It almost felt like Lavi had wanted Allen to say that they were something other than friends. With how strange humans tended to be, it was quite possible that their courtships were more subtle than he'd bargained for and he'd simply missed the signs. He really, _really _hoped that he was wrong...after all, the merman would either be going back to the ocean or dead soon. The kissing was nice, but this was neither the time nor the place for actual romance.

That wasn't all. There was Kanda to think about. Allen was still unsure of his motives and he was fairly certain that the Japanese man had begun to pick up on the fact that not all was as it seemed, but he couldn't seem to resist reacting strongly to the swordsman. Then, of course, there was Link. Something was _seriously _wrong with the man, and his zoning out had grown worse as of late. It was putting Allen on edge and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he was so worried about his biggest obstacle to getting out of here, but he was and it was driving him _insane_. He seemed to have a very treacherous heart, because he couldn't seem to help but care about his captors. He'd become friends with Lavi on the ship, and now he was befriending most of the people he spent time with here, the people who he knew were keeping secrets from him and were assigned to keep an eye on him, and it was really bad because he found himself not wanting to leave them.

And then there was Allen himself. The merman was positive now that there was something going on with this spell that was affecting his heart and mind. He felt no longing for the sea, and while he missed his friends, the homesickness just wasn't there. The only thing he really missed was his magic, but now that he was becoming more accustomed to the human's ways, that was fading too. A strange tingling sensation had started up about the time Allen realized something was wrong with him, and it was really starting to make him jumpy. At first, he'd thought it had just been nerves due to the unpleasant discovery, but...

It felt like someone was watching him. However, when he turned to look, there was never anyone there.

When they rounded the final corner to get to the desired room, Allen's steps faltered a bit. There was someone he didn't recognize leaning against the door, arms folded over her chest.

She barely sparred Allen a glance, but shot a meaningful look at the Inspector and pushed away from the door, marching down the hall in the opposite direction. Link's expression darkened. Allen wanted to ask, but he'd long since learned that Link wouldn't answer questions pertaining to the Order, and Allen got the impression that this would be one of those times.

The Inspector dropped him off with Lavi, only saying that it might take him a bit longer than usual for the blonde to come pick up his charge. Which left Allen alone, in a room with his friend who's feelings he wasn't sure of. Not a great trade off.

"Err...Hi, Lavi. What are we doing today?"

The redhead just looked at his counterpart for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he grinned his infectious grin and Allen knew it would all be okay.

* * *

><p>"But what about Kanda?"<p>

Lavi paused in his estimating escape times and regarded the white haired boy carefully.

"What about him?"

"He...he's onto me, right?"

Lavi sighed, leaving Allen feeling like he had wanted to avoid this subject. But, the redhead didn't hesitate in answering.

"Sort of. I don't think his actions were prompted by outside forces...he picked up on it himself and is trying to puzzle you out on his own. This spell of yours is certainly impressive, planting just enough doubt that you weren't killed immediately, but it's landed you in the den of wolves. Kanda, myself, and others around the base are trained to combat the forces outside humanity and keep them repressed. We might not understand magic, but that doesn't mean we don't have ways to combat it. Kanda is a bit slow on the uptake, but...well, it'd be best if we can get you out of here. Soon."

Allen nodded. He figured it was about time to lay his other concern onto the table:

"Link too. Something's up with him, and it's only been getting worse lately. Do you think it has anything to do with me?"

"Probably. He was sent here by the higher-ups to keep tabs on you. He's having to push them to make a decision about what to do with you. That means they still have their doubts. I'm not sure how long this amnesia story will hold up though."

The merman swallowed. He understood the message.

Time was running out.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Beansprout."<p>

Allen flinched. How had Kanda managed to find him? Allen had made sure to take his bathroom break really early today-earlier than Kanda usually showed up. Maybe the swordsman was stalking him? The merman pulled his human persona about him as tight as he could and took a mental step back, hoping it would be enough to fool the man.

"Yes?" Neah smiled as politely as he could, which seemed to make the taller man a little put off.

"I told you to stop being fake and formal, didn't I?"

With much strength of will, Allen reigned in his reaction and let Neah continue to stay in control.

"Ah, I apologize."

Kanda just rolled his eyes.

"Eat your meal with me." It wasn't a request. Kanda just started walking back toward the lunch room without another word or glance.

"B-But I'm already spending it with-"

"Forget about them. An hour without you isn't going to kill them."

"I really don't think-" Neah gave up and started jogging after Kanda, who was already one step into the cafeteria at this point.

He quickly picked up his food as he passed by his usual table and mouthed a quick apology to his friends, not wanting to potentially anger the dark haired man in a place where there would be a lot of collateral damage.

Neah sat down tentatively while Allen watched from a distance, trying to ignore the inexplicable draw he felt toward this man, looking for a motive behind his actions.

"W-Why did you want me to eat with you," Neah asked, then added for good measure, "Mr. Kanda?"

Sharp dark eyes pinned him for a moment, before turning to the bowl of noodles Neah had failed to notice before.

"San."

"Pardon?"

"I'm Japanese. If you are going to use honorifics, it would be Kanda-san. Also, don't. It annoys me."

"Uh, okay. Kanda, then. B-But that doesn't answer my question..."

For a moment, he didn't speak. Then he took a deep breath and pinned the white haired boy with the same gaze that he had the other day. If Allen had been in control, he would have glared right back, but Neah stayed calm and simply lowered his eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Neah saw Kanda's hand clench dangerously tight around his chopsicks. He was distantly surprised that they didn't break.

"Who _are _you?" Kanda hissed. His voice was low, so no one would over hear, but it simmered with underlying danger.

"What?" That made Neah look up, but he was met with a searching gaze that he didn't really like.

"I asked who you are. You have two faces. Two personalities. Which is the real one?"

In his head, Allen's knee-jerk reaction was to answer, _'Me!'_ But he was caught off guard when the sentiment was echoed.

_Two_ thoughts rang out simultaneously, in two separate voices.

The merman's blood ran cold.

It scared Allen so badly that he shrank back into the furthest corner of his mind that he could, and only vaguely caught the rest of the conversation.

"I don't know what you're takling about. There's only one of me." Neah said.

"Lies."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Kanda-_san_. I'm Neah. I've never been anyone else."

"Yesterday, you were."

"No, I wasn't. Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

_'I'm the only 'me' there is.' _

_'No!' _Allen fought back against the intruding thoughts. _'Stay back!' _The merman gave a mental shove to the other voice in his head and it went silent. In his panic, he reached for his magic, only to find an aching void.

The white haired boy clutched his head, completely missing whatever it was that Kanda said next.

When he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder, Allen flinched. Relief flooded through him; he was back in control. Of course, that still left him with...

"Oi. What the hell's wrong with you?"

Kanda. And, just as usual, he felt a fire spread within himself.

"Shut up. Nothing's wrong." Allen shook his head to clear it and realized that this could be really bad. He was already off kilter and with Kanda around, things could go south really fast.

"First one, then the other," Kanda muttered with a glance toward Allen's usual table. The merman followed his gaze and wasn't entriely surpirsed to see everyone looking at him worriedly and Link glaring daggers at Kanda.

Allen took a deep breath to steady himself and shrugged off the hand that had yet to leave his shoulder. He ignored the pang of loss the he felt when the other man pulled away.

"Alright, Beansprout?"

The white haired boy warily eyed Kanda's face, looking for a motive.

_'Is he trying to crack the facade where everyone can see? If so, he's doing a surprisingly good job, but...'_

The dark haired man's eyes showed no lies. Only confusion. Allen's intuition told him that this was no trick, no matter how much his mind thought otherwise. And his mind seemed to be a little questionable as of late, so he decided to trust his instincts.

"I'm fine. And my name isn't 'Beansprout'."

_'He's just genuinely curious about me. I suppose I can't blame him, but I also can't trust him.' _Allen had to repress a shudder as he recalled the look that had graced this man's features when he had been locked in the tank.

_'If he figures out who I am, he won't wait for permission to strike. If he were ever to learn...I'm dead.'_

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

maristhesealatin- Thanks for all your lovely reviews! I-I don't think it's so amazing that I reply to reviews! I like talking to you guys...Yeah, I hear that a lot about the summary! I think it's partially because I suck at writing them and partially because FF's character limit makes it pretty much impossible to write a truly good one. Also, apparently AU mermaid fanfics are notoriously bad! I've never watched the anime, so I wouldn't know! I think the English version of Kanda was dubbed by Travis Willingham, right? Yup. I am proud to write this crazy soap opera til the end!

Oaken Wren- Yeah, the capatcha thing is kinda pissing me off, but whatevs. I don't know if this chapter counts as angst...more like tension building. IDK, like I said in the ANs, I just kinda started vomiting out ideas and hoping they would work coherently. Did you do well on your finals? I'm starting my first year of college this fall and I'm really nervous! I don't know how much time I'll have for this story...I'm one of those people that never studied and barely did the homework required and had no extracurricular activities to deal with, so it will be a big change...but I digress. Yeah, sex shouldn't be perfect, because it isn't. The thing I aim to do in my stories is make them as real as I can, even though it's fiction. That why I don't describe clothes and stuff, because unless it's really abnormal, I never notice shit like that, so I don't bother with it in my writing, maybe I should, but...meh. Lol, sorry for rambling.

Krystal Nite- I love Laven too! As for your question...I have no idea. Lol.

Tintaglia In Flight- I like the long stories the best too...and what is the point of having a main character if you don't really get to know them? One of the reasons I lean toward fanfiction rather than original stuff if that some of the character development is already done for me. You guys already had a general idea of what to expect as far as basic outlook and stuff goes. It keeps me from having to explain every little detail right away, like why being the Bookman's apprentice is bad for relationships, and stuff like that. Granted, it's no excuse to not cover these things, but I feel having already established framework helps you understand a story more. Rest assured that Kanda does understand that there is something more going on here, he just doesn't quite get it yet. Sometimes the most obvious answers are the ones that evade us the most.

Lola that Fecker- W-Wow...you like the pairing because I wrote it and you like LTIS? *dies* I'm blushing here! Thanks for your praise! And I'm glad you appreciate that I'm not rushing the relationships. I don't think these things should be forced.

NightshadeTwiningTheRosary- Ah, I love that you review regularly! And I never care how much you have to say. I appreciate your critique because it forces me to think of ways to become better as a writer, which is absolutely invaluable. I did my best to make the sex scene good without being too much. I've read those stories where you have to get through 17 pages of flowery porn before you can get back to the plot, and it just kinda sucks. In the future, when Allen gets involved, the steamy scenes could get a bit longer and more detailed, but not too much. Yeah, the copious amounts of cussing really only happen in Kanda's POV. I sort of gave him my own personality in that regard- cusses a decent amount outwardly, but swears like a sailor in his head. Considering he grew up with essentially no parental guidance, I don't think it's too much of a stretch. Yeah, I've never read the official translation or watched the manga, so I don't know what he's like otherwise! I only have online scanlations to work from. Yullen, Yullen, Yullen...it's gonna be rough to get to that point, but I promise I'm working on it! See? *points up* They didn't try to kill each other or anything in this chapter! /shot.

AzureKurashin- Yup, no Allen. Just wanted to remind everyone that in order for a threesome to really work, all sides of it have to be functioning properly.

Kinkylittlewolf- Oh, I'm looking forward to the threesome too! Slowly but surely, we are getting there! The porn will probably be pretty hard to write though!

scrletfyre- A little drama is good, yes? Mostly, I just wanted to establish his resolve for helping Allen, that way this chapter could go off without too much of a hitch, since I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.

Conrii- Well, I wish you the best of health and happiness from now on, my darling. If there's ever anything you wish to speak about, don't be afraid to PM me. Being sick really sucks! Anyway, yeah, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. In fact, all three of the boys are at tumultuous points right now.

blackirshawk- I know! I just wanted to give Kanda a little extra depth. He needs a soft side too. ^_^

Kurazilssia- Glad you guys liked it! I hope my porn writing skills are up to par...*glomps Razill*

EXO718- Kanda isn't supposed to be all brawn. He has a brain, he just doesn't use it very often, but when he does, he can come to understand things better. Glad you appreciated that.

Queen Yanna- YES, they are totally his bitches. I just imagines Kanda dressed up like a pimp with Lavi and Allen on either arm. LOL!

kotori- The pairing is going to wind up as a threesome, but it will probably be a love triangle for a little while. And yeah, there will be an aspect of romance between Kanda and Lavi, to make the threesome work properly, otherwise it's just Allen dating two people who happen to like fucking around. There will be some emotion involved. And yeah, there's a bunch of stuff to establish before we get to that point and I wanted to make sure everybody knew that Lavi had some feelings for Kanda! I want this to have emotional investment. I'll mostly focus on Allen's relationships, but I can't just leave the other boys out. I dunno if that actually answers your question though...

TotalAmuto- YES, I REMEMBER, I MISSED YOU BABY! AGGGHHH, I KNOW, THERES, SO MUCH SEXI TYME, I AM SO HENTAI!

sammi117- Lavi is slightly less stubborn than Kanda though, at least.

Hanashi o suru- Ah, I'm so happy you liked it! Truth be told, I am not super confident in my porn writing skills, so it makes me glad to hear that you think it was good!


	25. Chapter 25: Allen

Holy fuck, sorry it's been so long, you guys. My life kinda exploded for a while there, and then I lost the data for this chapter like three times. It's been really, really rough for me the past few months. ALSO, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE SITE WHILE I WAS GONE? I CAN'T FUCKING FIND EVERYTHING, IT'S ALL DIFFERENT!

Anyway. Cue sudden dramatic changes! Now fully betaed.

* * *

><p>"What happened today?"<p>

Allen looked over at the side of the room that Link had claimed as his own. It was a bit strange for the blonde man to speak after the candle had been blown out and the two of them had turned in for the night. Of course, Allen could guess what the Inspector was referring to. The white haired boy had essentially been silent for the whole day. It felt like talking too much would give him away, since he was far too terrified to call upon Neah again.

Just thinking about hearing someone else's thoughts in his head, feeling something alien move within his mind, made the merman shiver. It was vile in the most basic possible way, wrongwrong_wrong_, and left him feeling like something was crawling underneath his skin. Allen pulled his blanket more tightly around himself.

He wasn't entirely sure how to answer the other man's question, so Allen just decided to be as honest as possible.

"I'm not sure. I haven't felt well since lunch."

"I see," It sort of sounded like he didn't believe that, but he continued without voicing any doubts. "And why did Yuu Kanda wish to speak with you?"

"I'm not really sure about that either. My head started to hurt before he could get to the point."

Link asked nothing more and Allen was grateful for the silence.

* * *

><p>Morning was meant to be a tranquil time, slightly fuzzy, softened by sleep.<p>

Waking up was not typically the prelude to a life altering, catastrophic event. Allen never ceased to be amazed at his luck.

The white haired boy found himself dragged out of bed by the collar of his nightgown, yanked from an already fitful slumber. Before he could even put together a proper protest, he'd been dressed and rushed out of the room by someone who was definitely not Howard Link.

"W-Who-" Allen began, only to be cut off.

"A member of the Order."

Looking over the form that was now half-leading, half-dragging Allen down the hallway,the merman found he was having difficulty determining whether this was a man or a woman. Their face was obscured by a dark cloak, which billowed out around their frame, eliminating any indication of their gender. The voice that came from within the shadow behind their cowl gave nothing away. Allen instantly didn't trust this person, but he couldn't let them know that.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Away. You are leaving the European Branch today."

_'Leaving?'_ Allen just barely managed to keep walking, but could not contain the flinch that came from hearing another voice in his head.

_'Outside! Yes, let's leave.'_

Allen batted at the intruder until it went quiet, trying to keep from giving into panic like he had yesterday.

When the robed figure turned toward Allen, presumably to try and puzzle out his sudden convulsion, the merman just shrugged. He was too unwilling to trust his voice, afraid that the syllables would sound as if someone else had spoken them.

After a moment the figure shrugged back and continued to lead Allen down the hall.

He was once again thankful for the silence.

* * *

><p><em>"Psst!"<em>

Allen jumped a bit, thinking that he'd had far too many surprises today and it wasn't even lunch yet.

The merman glanced around, unsure of where the voice had come from in this unfamiliar place.

He'd been brought down several flights of stairs and along many corridors, assuring that he had absolutely no idea where he was.

Two other cloaked figures had joined the first and they had instructed Allen to stand off to the side while they fiddled with some sort of land-ship. A 'carriage', if he recalled correctly.

It was rather dark in here. And a bit cold. There were several doors leading out on three of the walls and one large door that took up most of the fourth. Crates were piled here and there, and there were various unidentifiable things throughout the room. Plenty of places for someone to hide.

"Behind you. Don't turn around. Act normally," hissed the voice, seemingly from over his shoulder.

_'Lavi.' _Allen breathed a silent sigh of relief, both at the appearance of his friend and at the fact that this time his thoughts were his own.

The merman nodded slightly and continued to pretend to be enthralled with watching the three robed people work.

"Link finally received his orders. They plan to take you away to a testing facility for more...'observation.' It won't lead to anything good. We've run out of time. You need to get out of here. Now."

Allen swallowed, but continued to listen intently.

"If you get on that carriage, it's all over. I doubt you'd ever be able to escape. Now, the Inspector will be coming shortly. As soon as he does, those goons will most likely greet him. That will be your cue. Run to your left as fast as you can and don't look back."

A million thoughts ran through Allen's head all at once, faster than he could really keep up with. Only one truly mattered right now though.

"What about you?" He murmured as quietly as possible.

There was no reply for quite a while, so long that Allen thought perhaps the redhead had not heard his words.

"I'll be fine," Lavi whispered eventually. "You just worry about getting yourself out of here."

Allen wanted to say something more, but it was already too late. One of the many doors opened.

There were so many things the he needed to address with his new friends, so many things that had been left unsaid, but there just wasn't any more time.

Link came in, his eyes immediately alighting on his charge. Allen gave him the best smile he could manage, ignoring the pang of sadness at the thought of never seeing the man again.

The cloaked figures turned and bowed. The Inspector's eyes flitted over to them for just a moment, a single second of lax attention.

Allen ran.

* * *

><p>The way was surprisingly clear. All the doors Allen came across were closed, except for a choice few left strategically ajar, all of which he went through. It was Lavi's work, no doubt.<p>

His instincts told him that he was being pursued but he could hear nothing but the blood pounding in his ears, felt nothing other than the burning in his limbs and the constriction in his chest.

After the first couple of doors, Allen found himself in a long hallway and he knew they could catch him when they no longer had to navigate turns and corners. The white haired boy lunged at the first closed door he saw, thanking Neptune when he found it unlocked. He dove through the doorway and shut it behind himself, leaning against the sturdy wood and silently gasping for air. He couldn't even take in his surroundings, so focused was he on getting air into his lungs.

Allen hoped that they would run past and aim for the open door further down the hall, hoped they would be foolish enough to follow the established pattern. Swiftly, the sound of heavy footfalls grew painfully near, so close that the merman's heart stopped-then they sped away down the hall.

Allen waited a moment, trying to catch his breath, listening for others. When he heard nothing else, he cracked the the door open and took a peek.

Empty.

His pursuers had been in such a rush that they hadn't bothered to close any doors behind them so Allen's path was still clear to him.

He jogged the rest of the way at a slightly less frantic pace, keeping an ear out for any others that may have fallen behind.

Eventually Allen began to hear shouting from up ahead and slowed even more, trying to discern what was going on. As he approached, the smell hit him. Acrid, choking and foul, smoke was flowing out from the next open door. He knew what that meant.

Something was burning. Several somethings, judging by the sheer amount of billowing death before him.

Allen hated fire. He _hated _it. There was no fire underwater. Good thing too, because flames genuinely scared the merman. Even the little ones on candles put the white haired boy on edge.

But, the door was open, so...

Against his better judgement, Allen went through.

It was even worse here. The smoke made Allen cough, so he held his breath and put his marked hand over his mouth. He ran into the murky air, looking for the next open door. There was light coming from this one, orange and flickering, bright enough to be seen through the smoke.

The roar of the fire and intense heat made his steps falter for a moment.

_'I can't afford to stop here,'_ Allen reminded himself.

It was hell on the other side of the doorway. Flames licked up the stone walls, trying to find purchase. Allen couldn't really identify what this room had been used for because everything in it had been engulfed in flames. Horrifying, awful flames.

The yelling he'd heard was coming from one of the cloaked figures, who's robe was currently aflame.

As Allen watched, stunned, the cloak was cast off to reveal a woman the he vaguely recognized but he couldn't quite remember how.

She somehow spotted the merman through the chaos and pointed his way, shouting something that Allen couldn't quite make out.

The white haired boy ignored the impulse to run away from the fire and propelled forward, trying to pick his way around the burning wreckage. This was especially hard now that Allen's eyes had started to water so badly that he could barely keep them open.

He quickly found his way to the wall and felt his way along it, even though it was very hot. Fortunately, the room wasn't horribly large, so Allen swiftly found a place where the sparks and smoke began to thin a bit. It was yet another open door, which was allowing the smoke to funnel out. The only problem was that the entryway was ablaze.

Allen hesitated, unsure what to do, both about the fire and his rapidly decreasing air supply. Trying to breathe smoke in through lungs was almost worse than trying to breathe air through gills.

Then the yelling behind him reminded the merman that he was not alone. Glancing over his shoulder, Allen could just barely make out a familiar head of blonde hair moving toward him.

Once again, he was out of time. Allen put all his hope into braving the flames and took one last leap through the abyss just as a ear-spilting crack rang out. Something slammed into the boy's shoulder, knocking him forward and away from the fire, causing him to gasp in a lung-full of smoke. He didn't bother trying to identify what had struck him, just clambered to his feet, violent coughs wracking his frame. The merman careened forward blindly because it was simply all he could do.

Everything was a little fuzzy around the edges. Allen knew he hurt everywhere, but he was removed from the pain.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only about half a minute, the smoke began to clear and Allen's burning eyes began to make out light that didn't have the eerie cast of fire. He could barely form coherent thoughts at this point,but Allen knew sunlight when he saw it. Just the notion of being able to get out of this hellish place, away from the flames and captivity, had the white haired boy running with new found speed.

Pain, smoke, and burning continued for a few fiendish seconds and then-

Freedom.

Allen felt it run through his whole soul like a summer breeze, dizzily reveling in the sensation.

_'How much blood can a body loose and still be safe?' _the other voice mused, intruding upon the moment.

Allen thought about responding, but suddenly the ground was pressed to his face and he figured that the retort could wait until he woke up.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

*Christ I have like a zillion to respond to*

sammi117- He _was _a mask, but not so much anymore, eh? Hehe.

Hanashi o suru- Yep, poor Allen. Things always get worse before they get better.

River Flows Backwards- Lol, it's been about a billion years since I updated, so it's okay. YOLO is You ONly Live Once.

silverskies87- Well, realism is always nice. BAM!sexonthefloor! is a thing that may happen later though. Yeah, LTIS is still a thing I just had to slow down and only focus on one this at a time. Now that I've finally gotten this pathetic little update out of the way, I'll get back to Ed. Jesus, both my stories are drama central right now.

Lalalalala-Land- Spoiler Alert: Link _does _have feelings (just friendship feelings though). Though whether or not he cares for Allen or Neah...well, that is the question, isn't it?

TotalAmuto- HE KIND OF ALREADY HAS!

Queen Yana- The Order is a rather mysterious entity. I think being cryptic is a requirement for supernatural fighting.

Fireotaku18- More like he dicked around enough to make one. You can only pour so much magic into something before something goes awry.

scrletfyre- Kanda is obviously hunting for bitches to pimp on. I think the chapter answered the other questions.

maristhesealatin- N-e-v-e-r. He likes to pretend that he's unaffected by things most of the time. Silly rabbit.

AzureKurashin- I want the threesome too. (Fandom secret, I wrote it months ago and I'm just waiting for the story to catch up to it.)

ShizakiKuro- It was Neah.

Tintaglia In Flight- Link is just a little strange as a rule. And yeah, I had to squeeze those moments in that chapter because we got virtually none of that in this one.

lil' fayri grrl- Neah is meant to be rather disturbing. ALSO, I'M SORRY, LTIS IS STILL MY BABY I'LL GET RIGHT ON IT.

Angel Fantasy- Glad you like it. Also, I love that you guys throw around conjecture and questions like this thing is a scientific theory or something. Best readers.

blackirishawk- Yeah, he's confused all right. And once he finds out about this latest debacle he will be confused and pissed as all hell.

Prussia's lover- I'm glad!

anicraze009- Losing control over who you are is the best way to find out who you could be.

Kinkylittlewolf- I absolutely love your reviews!

dimidium draco- Sugar-coating just isn't my style. For instance, mortally injuring my main characters seems to be a bit of a habit of mine.

Keys Studio- Link isn't so much falling as fallen. It's mostly a friend thing though. Still, that kind of lave can hurt just as profoundly, and really, why bother writing fanfiction if you aren't going to rip your reader's hearts out once or twice?

FantasmeDarkHeaven- I'm really happy you find it interesting.

*Not gonna respond to the note chapter reviews because it wasn't a real chapter and I sort of addressed some of that stuff individually already.*


	26. Chapter 26: Lavi

**Edit: **Dear Sad Anon-san. I'm sorry you thought it was misleading, but the only one who has complained is you, so I probably won't be changing it. And, that sort of could be the case anyway, since I've already said that I'm a fan of flip flopping and reversible pairings. If you are going to comment on anything in the future, please consider constructive criticism so the author doesn't take it as an attack. Thank you.

Yo. Yeah, College is eating me. Super sorry guys, but updates will be spotty at best for a while. However, I am taking this summer off, so maybe I'll have a little more time to myself then. Again, if you wanna talk to me about anything (fic related or otherwise) skip on over to my tumblr and drop me an ask. I hope you all can forgive the shortness of this (and the next) chapter. You know I hate transitions, So I just wanted to get through it. Love you all!

* * *

><p>The fire had worked. The smoke and flame had stopped the Inspector from coming through.<p>

Lavi had expected Allen to get out before the flames had gone completely out of control, but it seemed he'd overestimated his white haired friend. It had taken the boy far too long to emerge.

He perched in a tree, waiting for some sign of the one he'd tried to save, growing more and more concerned with the sheer amount of smoke pouring out of the exit.

Perhaps he'd gone a little overboard...

Just as the redhead was about to jump down and go looking, an unmistakable crack rang through the air-a gunshot.

Lavi began to really panic and scurried down the tree, getting tangled up in the branches in his haste. His feet touched the ground just as a figure came stumbling out of the doorway and fell to the ground.

Lavi could barely see through the smoke, but he'd know that figure anywhere, after all the time spent chasing it.

Allen had made it. He'd escaped.

However, he was clearly in no shape to make the rest of the journey.

Lavi pulled his coat up over his mouth and ran to the prone form, hefting the boy (who, Lavi noted unhappily, was entire too light considering the sheer amount of food he ate) and carrying him to the cover of the trees.

Flames were spitting out the doorway now-the Order had made a bad choice in having this part of the building installed with wood floor. The redhead figured he had enough time to quickly inspect the damage done to his dear friend.

Allen was absolutely covered in soot. His hair and clothes were singed around the edges, but aside from a burnt patch on his calf, he had somehow escaped most of the fire's influence. However, the young man's left side was swiftly becoming soaked in blood. As Lavi had feared, he'd been shot. Fortunately, the round had penetrated his shoulder and missed any vital areas. Lavi tore off his jacket and tied it tightly about the wound, mourning the fact that it would just have to wait until later.

Lavi made his way to the stable which was, thankfully, fairly close and shoved the boy into one of the Order's shabbier carriages, already packed and lashed to a pair of horses (who were very, very skittish, probably from all the smoke).

He took a deep breath. Doing this was breaking all the rules. The Bookmen held no love for the Order, but he could (and probably would) lose his title as the Bookman Heir for this. He'd certainly be branded a heretic by the Church.

'Allen is worth all the risk.'

Lavi wondered why fate was so cruel. How had he fallen so hard for someone he couldn't have?

The red head shook his head and took the reins. He had to force himself not to look back as they rode away.

* * *

><p>To My Reviewers: (I think this is everybody. My review order is a little out of whack due to my note chapter, so forgive me if I missed you.)<p>

HentaiTensai - Ughhhhhh...school is the worst thing ever for my writing...but I...did it...*dies*

moonstar the dragonwolf- Wow, thanks a bunch!

momorona- I love making people keyboard smash. I hope this update makes you happy too!

Hinata's Shadow1- I'm glad to provide a little inspiration! Ugh, poor Allen, getting shot like that. I hope he's okay!

blackirishawk- Basically, nobody but Allen was nuts enough to brave the fire. Poor brave baby. :(

Kinkylittlewolf- Haha, "alive" is a little too nice. School has just been killing my writing. But. I shall go on. And yeah, I won't kill Allen before he fucks everybody he needs to.

Hanashi o suru- Thanks for being patient with me!

Aki-chan26-AgnosticAngel- HEHE. (Please don't be too upset with the long waits. I haven't forgetten you, I promise!)

Kumiko-Walker- Now you know! Tee hee.

LalaPanda9- Lol, well, no. Being captured again would be a little much. Being on the run is a lot more fun, yeah?

Shizaki Kuro- Yea, poor Allen. Always with the short end of the stick.

AzureKurashin- Lol, no, you never bother me. I love Link too! He's actually one of my favorite characters! He's just dealing with a lot of crap right now...

Crazyanimelover1289- Yes, yes, the aim is to get all the boys boning each other. Fear not, I shall get us there.

Mystical Crimson Dance- SQUEE! I love super long comments. Let me love you~ OMG, I LOVE WEIRD LITTLE AU-VERSES. AUs are my secret passion.

Tintaglia In Flight- Yeah, Lavi's pretty clever, eh? Yet more rushing around for all of them now.

Conrii- Very true.

Renkin-chan- Lol, I love mermaids and their weird culture.

DelphiProphesy- Ugh, tell me about it.

Wobblyjelly- I'm glad you like it! Welcome to my crazy little AU!

Guest- Glad you like it! Please bear with the long pauses! College is eating my life!

Krystal Nite- (Psst, my readers hate me too)

WithoutWingsX- I like Nellen, lol.

Hachamecha- Thank you for the offer! I'll remember it~ You can shoot me an email if you want, and when the prons come up, I'll get your opinion. Never hurts to have more help with stuff like that.

f.m. kit kat- Poor baby!

AllenxEdward- Nah, no mpreg. Not my thing, wouldn't wanna butcher it, ya know?

Allen's Matchmaker- Hehe, yeah, Allen will pull through.

PlatinumOwl- Oh, I'm so happy you like it! It's lovely comments like yours that inspire me to write!

Ali sanpei- SJHFGOUIAEGHEADASDAJ, THANK YOU. (Your comment made me cry. In a good way.)

Yoroichicat- I'm sorry! Here's more.

Darkspider- Lol, if it's confusing for you, imagine how it must be for them! Polyamory is a mire at the best of times.


	27. Chapter 27: Kanda

Eyyyy. Here's to another short-ass transition chapter. Thankfully, this should be the last one. On a better note, it's summer break now, so (no promises) I should be updating mildly faster. We'll be getting back to Allen next time. My beta is a wonderful person.

* * *

><p>Kanda hated meetings. Especially ones where everybody was talking all at the same time. Just as he really began to grind his teeth in annoyance, a voice broke out over all the others.<p>

"Neah has escaped."

The room fell silent at the announcement. Inspector Howard Link looked like he was bordering on furious as he continued to speak.

"This was, in part, due to mistakes made by my team, which I take full responsibility for. However," the blonde man began, eyes passing over all present before finally landing on the Bookman. "We believe he may have had help. Bookman Jr. disappeared after the fire and has not yet been found."

Kanda started at this bit of information, not knowing what to make of it. Bookman, for his part, didn't look surprised at all. No doubt he'd already known.

"I-Isn't it possible that he went out to track Neah down?" Miranda spoke up, a rare show of bravery from her in this type of setting.

The Inspector eyed the timid woman testily. Her courage seemed to leave her and she cowered a bit under his gaze.

"Doubtful. The fugitive knowing his way out of the building and the convenient timing of the fire indicates outside influence. Neah had been taking his afternoons with Junior for a while now. It would have been the perfect chance to orchestrate an escape attempt."

"I don't want to believe that Lavi would do this. It's very unlike him." Bookman stated quietly.

"Let us reserve judgement," the old man continued. "Until we have tracked him and Neah down. If there were any extenuating circumstances, we should gather as much information as possible."

"I'll go find them." Kanda said.

"You are on probation, Yuu Kanda." the Inspector glared.

"Maybe, but I've worked with Lavi before, and I understand the runt. I can track them down quickly."

Howard Link pinched the bridge of his nose, debating.

"We must send out search parties in any case. Set up teams of capable people to apprehend them, be prepared to use force in the event that they attempt to resist. Should you locate either the fugitive or Bookman Jr., escort them back to the Interrogation rooms and report in."

Just as Kanda was about to open his mouth, the Inspector began again.

"If you are going to be so insistent as to your helpfulness in this matter, then I will see to it that your probation status is temporarily lifted."

_'Finally,'_ Kanda inwardly sighed with relief.

"But, I will be accompanying you in your search." the Inspector finished.

Dammit.

* * *

><p><span>To My Reviewers:<span>

momorona- I missed you too. Yeah, Lavi's all warm squishiness on the inside.

Allen's Matchmaker- Hopefully the crap wait was worth it.

YullenLover16- Oh, I'm glad you like it! That makes me feel alot better. :)

AllenxEdward- It's good to hear from you too!

ShimmeringCrimson- You're welcome! And thanks to you for the review!

Hinata's Shadow1- I don't know how many safe places there are, but hopefully they find one.

Ali sanpei- Ahh~ Let me smooch your face! I love the boys too! I just want lots of fluffy soon!

mychemicalbitchbot- I'm glad you liked it!

Conrii- Glad you liked it! (And to your other review:) It could be! *evil smile*

Happycafegirl- I'm glad you like them!

Midnight Fantasia Goddess- Well, there's definitely something wrong with his personality(s?) I'll give you that.

Tintaglia In Flight- Well, yeah, the Order is gonna come after them, but I really do wanna focus more on the relationship now. I can't wait until Kanda catches up. It could lead to brutal murder, or sexy fun times, but either way it ought to be fun.

Krystal Nite- So happy you stick with me!

Yana5- I'm glad!


	28. Message

I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but it's only fair to you. So, I'm putting this, and all my other stories on a hiatus for an undefined amount of time. I've totally lost my drive to write, and I don't wanna leave you guys in lurch. I hope I'll be able to update again someday. Thanks for sticking with me this long.

-Kimba


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